The many times Starmer criticised Rwanda scheme – before announcing own deportation plan
Sir Keir Starmer has announced the UK will begin talks with other countries to host 'return hubs' for failed asylum seekers.
During his time as both leader of the opposition and Prime Minister, however, Sir Keir has been a staunch critic of the Tories' plan to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda.
The Prime Minister cancelled Rishi Sunak's flagship immigration policy on his first day in Downing Street, which is likely to prompt accusations of hypocrisy now that he is also looking to send asylum seekers to third countries.
Here, The Telegraph takes a look at Sir Keir's criticisms of the Rwanda plan.
April 14, 2022
In response to Boris Johnson's announcement of the Rwanda plan, Sir Keir said it was 'unworkable', 'extortionate' and an attempt to distract voters from Mr Johnson's partygate fine for breaching Covid rules.
November 15, 2023
Speaking in the Commons, Sir Keir called the Rwanda scheme 'the most ridiculous, pathetic spectacle of all', adding: 'Does he want to apologise to the country for wasting £140 million of cash?'
December 12, 2023
Sir Keir used a speech to say that bearing down on illegal migration was 'about doing the basics better' and that 'stopping the boats means stopping the gimmicks'.
May 10, 2024
Sir Keir told reporters: 'Every flight that goes off requires a massive cheque to be written to the Rwandan government. I want to use that money for setting up the law enforcement to break the gangs in the first place… No planes, no scheme, I'm not going to flog a dead horse.'
May 23, 2024
During the first full week of the general election campaign, Sir Keir said: 'I don't think he's ever believed that plan is going to work, and so he has called an election early enough to have it not tested before the election.'
June 27, 2024
Sir Keir told Mr Sunak during the final general election debate: 'Why are record numbers still coming under your watch, Prime Minister? How on earth can you say it's working?'
He added: 'I noticed you called the election, by the way, before any flights could actually get off, but it could be tested. Interesting timing. But if this was such a deterrent, why is it obviously not working?'
July 5, 2024
The day after Labour won the general election, sources in Sir Keir's Government told The Telegraph: 'If Rishi Sunak thought Rwanda would work, he wouldn't have called an election. It was a con. By calling an election, Sunak was acknowledging that fact.'
July 6, 2024
Sir Keir said at a press conference: 'Look at the numbers that have come over in the first six and a bit months of this year, they are record numbers, that is the problem that we are inheriting. It's had the complete opposite effect and I'm not prepared to continue with gimmicks that don't act as a deterrent.'
September 4, 2024
Sir Keir told the Commons: 'Unlike the Conservative party, we will not waste money on gimmicks. That is why, within days, we ended the Rwanda scheme and announced the launch of the border security force, and we have been preparing legislation to introduce counter-terrorism powers to tackle gangs.'
March 12, 2025
At Prime Minister's Questions, he said: 'The Rwanda scheme cost £700 million of taxpayers' money to remove four volunteers. What a contrast: we have got the flights off and removed 19,000 people who should not be here.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
ANDREW NEIL: No future UK government has a hope of making things better if it can't reform our incompetent Left-wing, WFH civil service
Former Tory Cabinet minister-turned-magazine editor, Michael Gove, this week revealed that, as Education Secretary, he had to overrule civil servants who wanted to suppress newspaper revelations about in Rotherham. The local council requested the government join it in legal action to prevent The Times from publishing details of its ground-breaking investigation into the scandal. Some senior civil servants in his department advised Gove to join in this bid to muzzle the press.
Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
BEL MOONEY: Why is it called ‘infanticide' to kill a newborn child, yet it will soon be legal to end the life of a baby when it's fully formed in the womb?
There are times in life when you shake yourself hard, as if wishing to awaken from sleep, only to find that the nightmare is all too present and frighteningly real. So I felt when our representatives in His Majesty's Government, elected MPs in the country we like to call the 'Mother of Parliaments', gave a resounding 'Yes' to making it legal for any woman to pop a pill at any time in a pregnancy – and terminate the baby in her womb.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Palestine Action to be banned after vandalism of planes at RAF base
The Home Secretary is preparing to ban Palestine Action following the group's vandalism of two planes at an RAF base. Yvette Cooper has decided to proscribe the group, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support Palestine Action. The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine. The incident is being also investigated by counter terror police. A spokesperson for Palestine Action accused the UK of failing to meet its obligation to prevent or punish genocide. The spokesperson said: 'When our government fails to uphold their moral and legal obligations, it is the responsibility of ordinary citizens to take direct action. The terrorists are the ones committing a genocide, not those who break the tools used to commit it.' The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is 'concerned in terrorism'. Proscription will require Ms Cooper to lay an order in Parliament, which must then be debated and approved by both MPs and peers. Some 81 organisations have been proscribed under the 2000 Act, including Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and al Qaida, far-right groups such as National Action, and Russian private military company Wagner Group. Another 14 organisations connected with Northern Ireland are also banned under previous legislation, including the IRA and UDA. Belonging to or expressing support for a proscribed organisation, along with a number of other actions, are criminal offences carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Friday's incident at Brize Norton, described by the Prime Minister as 'disgraceful', prompted calls for Palestine Action to be banned. The group has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) welcomed the news that Ms Cooper intended to proscribe the group, saying: 'Nobody should be surprised that those who vandalised Jewish premises with impunity have now been emboldened to sabotage RAF jets.' CAA chief executive Gideon Falter urged the Home Secretary to proscribe the Houthi rebel group and Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, adding: 'This country needs to clamp down on the domestic and foreign terrorists running amok on our soil.' Former home secretary Suella Braverman said it was 'absolutely the correct decision'. But Tom Southerden, of Amnesty International UK, said the human rights organisation was 'deeply concerned at the use of counter terrorism powers to target protest groups'. Mr Southerden said: 'Terrorism powers should never have been used to aggravate criminal charges against Palestine Action activists and they certainly shouldn't be used to ban them. 'Instead of suppressing protest against the UK's military support for Israel, the UK should be taking urgent action to prevent Israel's genocide and end any risk of UK complicity in it.'
