UK PM Keir Starmer slams previous government's Rwanda immigration scheme as "inefficient"

The Rwanda scheme was "wasteful" and "inefficient" according to Starmer, speaking at an international immigration summit hosted by the UK on Monday.

The British Prime Minister slammed the scheme developed by the previous government of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their asylum request processed there instead of on UK soil.

Starmer's Labour government cancelled the Rwanda scheme in July 2024 after being elected into office, promising to replace it with a more efficient policy.

Starmer said: "We're also deploying resources away from the Tories wasteful Rwanda scheme, a scheme that spent over 700 million pounds of taxpayer money to remove just four volunteers."

Tighter immigration rules

His remarks come as rising support for the anti-immigration Reform UK party has put pressure on his government to act with regard to immigration policy.

In February, London announced that it was tightening immigration and citizenship rules for irregular migrants, making it almost impossible for those arriving in the UK by dangerous means to receive citizenship.

The UK struggles in particular to curb migrants' attempts at crossing the English Channel in boats from France.

Through hosting the Organised Immigration Crime (OIC) Summit this week, the UK also aims to increase cooperation among European nations sharing access to the English Channel and the North Sea against irregular migration.

The event brought together representatives and politicians from over 40 countries.