North East campaigners have added their voices to the chorus condemning "abhorrent" government plans to ship asylum seekers to Rwanda.
On Thursday, Boris Johnson announced plans to fly some people seeking safety in Britain over 6,000 miles to the central African country, forcing them to claim asylum there without the option to return to the UK. His words sparked widespread condemnation of the scheme which charities estimate could cost the UK £1.4bn.
An initial £120 million is expected to be given to the Rwandan government under a trial scheme, which is being criticised by refugee groups as a “cruel" decision that will fail to address the issue and “lead to more human suffering and chaos”. Their concerns were echoed in the North East.
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Yunus Bakhsh, from local campaign group North East Against Racism (NEAR), said: "It beggars belief. First of all, it is utterly inhumane, it is abhorrent, it breaches all the human rights laws in terms of asylum and seeking refuge.
"It's come right after the Partygate fines, and clearly the Government is looking for a shock factor to distract people as much as possible from the fact that people are in absolute uproar about the double standards. We have a Prime Minister who, along with significant members of his cabinet, breaks the law, and there's no come back for it."
On the same day the Rwandan scheme was announced, ministers announced that 20,000 visas have now been granted under the Government’s Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme. The NEAR spokesperson said this highlighted a 'double standard' in which people fleeing war and persecution were considered worthy of help in the UK.
He said: "It's pretty obvious that we have a situation where there are 'virtuous' refugees and 'not virtuous' refugees - some refugees are more equal than others. Our position is that all refugees should be welcome here, whether they're from Yemen, Afghanistan, Ukraine.
"It's a massive waste of taxpayers' money that looks like little more than an attempt to deflect attention from the criminal conduct of this Government and it shows they have no regard for refugees - and that applies to Ukrainian refugees as well, because we know that even under the 'Homes for Ukraine' scheme they've made it almost as difficult as possible for people to get here."
The Labour Party also accused Boris Johnson of trying to distract from being fined for breaching coronavirus laws with “unworkable, unethical and extortionate” plans. Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah tweeted on Thursday: "So cross the Channel fleeing persecution and war and get sent 6,000 miles to Rwanda.
"Party illegally whilst the entire country follows the rules you made at huge cost and including during a period of national mourning for the Queen's husband of seven decades and get full cabinet support."
Meanwhile, the Bishop of Durham also opposed the plan, telling The Guardian : "Asylum seekers who arrive on our shores are our international responsibility and should be dealt with in our own land with the human dignity to which they are entitled. There are many questions about the parameters of any offshoring proposal that remain unanswered, including the financial cost, but primarily around the question of dignity.”
It is thought the asylum seekers will be encouraged to relocate and rebuild their lives in Rwanda, rather than the UK, with more information on how the arrangement will work anticipated in the coming days. Asyluym seekers who remain in the UK while their claims are considered could also be housed in stricter reception centres under the plans.
Human rights campaigner Owain Gardner is among those opposing the women's immigration prison established on the site of the former Medomsley Detention Centre. He said the huge costs of both detention and sending people abroad should be used to make the system "more humane", citing Migration Observatory figures showing it costs over £36,000 a year to keep an asylum seeker detained. He said he hoped the opposition to the scheme from religious groups, charities and politicians would be enough to force the government to backtrack.
He said: "Everyone is shocked and appalled by the total lack of humanity in what's being put forward. It's not just that a single person is saying this is wrong, within hours of it being announced so many people from across te North East are coming together to oppose it and that says a lot.
Announcing the scheme on Thursday, Boris Johnson insisted the plan would tackle the "rank unfairness" of the current asylum system, which he claimed is being exploited by men entering via small boat crossings at the expense of women and children. He said the change would make things fairer on "seeking to come here legally". Under the UN refugee convention, people in danger in their home country are entitled to apply for refugee status in any other country and cannot be penalised for the route they take to enter that county.
The PM also said "uncontrolled immigration" would create "unmanageable demands" on the NHS and welfare state. According to the Refugee Council, the UK is home to just 1% of the 26.4 million refugees forcibly displaced across the world, while UNHCR statistics show that in 2021 there were around 135,912 refugees in the country (compared to a population of over 67 million).
The Home Office has questioned the £1.4bn figure, which comes from the Refugee Council, insisting it is "ludicrous" to suggest that it would cost more to pay a third country to accept UK refugees and to fly them 6,000 miles away would cost more than the current system.
