2022
14 April The then prime minister, Boris Johnson, announces plans to deport those arriving in the UK on small boats to Rwanda for their claims to be processed. The scheme will “prove a very considerable deterrent”, he insists, and Rwanda is “one of the safest countries in the world” with “the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead”. Costs will include an initial payment of £120m.
14 June The first flight taking asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda is cancelled minutes before takeoff after the European court of human rights in Strasbourg issues last-minute injunctions to stop it. Seven individuals are believed to be onboard.
4 October The then home secretary, Suella Braverman, tells an event at the Tory party conference: “I would love to have a front page of the Telegraph with a plane taking off to Rwanda, that’s my dream, it’s my obsession.”
2023
7 March Braverman introduces the illegal migration bill, saying she is confident it is compatible with international obligations. The bill, which becomes law in July 2023, provides that the home secretary has a duty to detain and remove those arriving in the UK illegally, either to Rwanda or another “safe” third country, while those detained will not be granted bail or able to seek judicial review for the first 28 days of detention.
15 November The supreme court rules the Rwanda policy is unlawful. Five judges unanimously uphold a court of appeal ruling that there has not been a proper assessment of whether Rwanda is safe. They find there are substantial grounds to believe deported refugees are at risk of having their claims in Rwanda wrongly assessed, or of being returned to their country of origin to face persecution. The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, says the government will work on a new treaty with Rwanda and that he is prepared to change UK law.
5 December Britain and Rwanda sign a new treaty on asylum in an attempt to address the supreme court’s concerns. James Cleverly travels to Kigali to sign it, becoming the third home secretary to travel to Rwanda, following in the footsteps of Braverman and Priti Patel. The British government says the new treaty ensures that people relocated to Rwanda are not at risk of being returned to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
6 December A day later, the UK government introduces the safety of Rwanda (asylum and immigration) bill to override the supreme court’s ruling. The bill, which declares Rwanda safe, also aims to block Strasbourg from halting the removal of asylum seekers to east Africa.
2024
1 March The National Audit Office, the official spending watchdog, says plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda will cost taxpayers £1.8m for each of the first 300 people the government deports. The overall cost of the scheme stands at more than half a billion pounds, according to the figures released to the NAO. Even if the UK sends nobody to the African state, Sunak has signed up to pay £370m from the public purse over the five-year deal.
22 April The safety of Rwanda (asylum and immigration) bill is finally passed after weeks of parliamentary back-and-forth as peers repeatedly blocked the legislation with a series of amendments. But peers eventually back down, meaning the controversial bill will become law.
