Rwanda’s president has said there are limits to how long attempts to implement an asylum deal with Britain can “drag on”, indicating he would be happy for the scheme to be scrapped.
Paul Kagame’s comments on Wednesday came before Rishi Sunak faced a potentially leadership-ending rebellion by Conservative MPs threatening to vote down his Rwanda deportation bill on Wednesday night.
Asked by the Guardian after an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos if he was following the debate in London, Kagame said: “It is the UK’s problem, not ours.”
MPs will vote on Wednesday evening on the third reading of the Rwanda bill and about a dozen Tories have said they are prepared to vote against it. Only 29 rebel Tories are needed for the bill to fall.
But in comments that are likely to set alarm bells ringing in London, Kagame expressed frustration at the drawn-out debate about whether asylum seekers would be processed in Rwanda. “There are limits for how long this can drag on,” he said.
Questioned if the UK deal was working, he replied: “Ask the UK. It is the UK’s problem, not Rwanda’s problem.”
Kagame also appeared to signal a shift in the Rwandan government’s position on returning funding that the UK has already provided as part of the deal
When asked about the money the UK had spent on the scheme, he said: “The money is going to be used on those people who will come. If they don’t come we can return the money.”
About £240m had been paid to Rwanda so far as part of the deal, the UK government said last year, while a further payment of £50m was expected in the 2024-25 financial year. Two further payments are scheduled.
A Rwandan government spokesperson had said last year there was no provision for refund as the money has already been allocated to a number of infrastructure projects. Asked if the UK would get its money back, the prime minister’s spokesperson said: “Our focus is on securing the progress of that bill through the house.”
On Wednesday Yolande Makolo, the Rwandan government’s spokesperson, said they would consider a future UK request for a refund, but declined to say how much of the UK’s cash had been spent so far.
“Under the terms of the agreement, Rwanda has no obligation to return any of the funds paid. However, if no migrants come to Rwanda under the scheme, and the UK government wishes to request a refund of the portion of the funding allocated to support the migrants, we will consider this request.
“To talk about figures at this point is premature, as we are still awaiting the conclusion of the UK legislative process and remain committed to making the partnership work,” she said.
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, used the opportunity to place pressure on the government, saying: “If Rwanda says we can have the money back from this failing scheme, Rishi Sunak should seize the chance, instead of dragging out this Tory asylum chaos any longer. We need proper grip, not more of this failing gimmick.”
Tory rightwingers also seized on Kagame’s words as evidence that the Rwanda scheme must block international law to satisfy the Rwandan president.
A rebel source said: “As [the illegal migration minister] Michael Tomlinson explained this morning, the government’s plan is going to need hundreds of judges to clear thousands of claims, which will take months and months at a bare minimum.
“Rwanda wants a plan that works quickly, not one that satisfies the whims of our attorney general. The government should therefore back our plan. At this rate it will be Labour having to pay back the money.”
Also speaking in Davos, the foreign secretary, David Cameron, said he was confident the third reading of the Rwanda bill would pass in the Commons.
Taking questions, he admitted that Sunak’s asylum policy was “unorthodox” but stressed the need for “out-of-the-box thinking” to tackle illegal migration.
Sunak came under fire over Rwanda at prime minister’s questions, where he was asked three times by the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, about what had happened to 4,250 people who had been “earmarked” for removal to the central African country but whom the government was said to have lost contact with.
The prime minister accused Labour of blocking the government’s actions on illegal immigration, adding that 20,000 people had been removed while enforcement raids were also up.
But Sunak was also admonished by the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, after he brandished a copy of a document, Human Rights Law, which the prime minister said Starmer had written.
“He has always been more interested in what lefty lawyers have to say,” said the prime minister, saying the Labour leader had authored “their textbook”.
Hoyle stopped Sunak, telling him: “Can I just say that we don’t use props in this house?”
