Britain took in asylum seekers from Rwanda even as Home Secretary Priti Patel drew up plans to send refugees fleeing other countries there.
Since 2017, 76 Rwandans have sought sanctuary in the UK, and 20 of them were granted some form of leave to remain, including two just last year.
Meanwhile 3,610 Rwandans have sought asylum in European countries in the past five years.
Experts say this may be a fraction of the total number fleeing the country, as many seek refuge elsewhere in Africa.
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The Tories were tonight accused of hypocrisy for saying Rwanda is “one of the safest countries” despite reports that critics of its government are jailed, tortured and go missing.
The UK government’s own travel advice for Rwanda warns: “LGBT individuals can experience discrimination and abuse.”
Labour’s Shadow Immigration Minister Stephen Kinnock said: “We knew that Priti Patel’s Rwanda deal is both unworkable and eye-wateringly expensive.
“But now we also know that it’s driven by rank hypocrisy, because it’s based on sending people to a country from which thousands are already fleeing.”
A raft of charities and experts also slammed the Government.
Lewis Mudge, Central Africa Director at charity Human Rights Watch, said the decision was “beyond hypocritical”.
He added: “It's deeply cynical. Rwanda is a country where people have to flee, where basic human rights are not respected.
“Political opponents are locked up, harassed, threatened or worse.
“We've documented cases where they have disappeared, never to be seen again. Extrajudicial executions are not uncommon.
"It's really difficult to understand how Boris Johnson had made the assertion that Rwanda is one of the safest countries in the world when those who are sent there will never be able to speak out honestly about the conditions in which they are held.”
Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said: “Treating people who have already endured so much suffering like human cargo and expelling them to Rwanda, a country with a questionable human rights record, is cruel and inhumane.
"We know that some Rwandan nationals do not feel safe there, leave and claim asylum in other nations, including the UK.”
Leading human rights lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith, founder of the charity Reprieve, said: "I'm disgusted by the whole process. There are only two options when people get to Rwanda.
"If you let them be free in any way, they'll just have another go at getting back to a European country.
"The alternative is to do what the Australians did and lock them up.
"Then, you're imprisoning people who are suffering persecution. We are going to end up treating people like criminals when in fact they are victims."
Zoe Gardner, policy and advocacy manager, at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said: "As we’ve told this government time and again, the only way to prevent perilous crossings and protect lives is by introducing fair and effective asylum rules.”
Bella Sankey, Director of Detention Action, said: "In the same week that Boris Johnson became the first sitting Prime Minister in our history found to have breached the criminal law, he brazenly and misleadingly accuses asylum seekers of illegality.
"Yet international law is clear that those fleeing persecution have the right to cross borders to seek safety.”
