‘We’re not going to do that’: Rishi Sunak slaps down deal with Ireland to return asylum seekers to UK
29 April 2024, 15:03
The Prime Minister has said he is "not interested" in pursuing a deal with Dublin on returning asylum seekers from Ireland to the UK.
Days ago, Rishi Sunak said the fact that more asylum seekers are trying to reach Ireland shows the Rwanda plan is working.
Ireland said that 80 per cent of its illegal migrant arrivals are people coming across the border from Northern Ireland who fear they might be sent to Rwanda.
Mr Sunak told ITV News today that Britain is “not going to accept” migrants being returned.
He compared the UK’s refusal to accept the return of refugees from the Republic to France’s refusal to accept the return from Britain of refugees who travelled on small boats from French beaches.
He said: “We're not interested in that. We're not going to accept returns from the EU via Ireland when the EU doesn't accept returns back to France where illegal migrants are coming from.
"Of course we're not going to do that."
Asked whether there were any negotiations with the EU on returns, he said: "No, I'm focused on getting our Rwanda scheme up and running."
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said the issue of asylum seekers crossing to the Republic of Ireland was an indication the UK's Rwanda scheme was already working as a deterrent.
At a joint press conference with Irish deputy prime minister Micheal Martin in Westminster, Mr Heaton-Harris said: "The UK's new deterrent is clearly working and having some impact already.
"An impact that will obviously increase as the first flights take off for Rwanda."
He added: "We will obviously monitor all this very closely and continue to work with the Irish Government on these matters."
The Cabinet minister said while the deterrent effect of the Rwanda scheme was anticipated "we are slightly surprised that it manifested itself so quickly after the Act became law".
Mr Heaton-Harris suggested he was "comfortable" with the Irish Government's proposed legislation, which he said was just resetting the legal position following an Irish High Court ruling that the UK was no longer a safe country.
The border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland, a European Union member, is the only land border between the UK and the EU since Britain left the bloc.
Ministers plan to send asylum seekers coming to the UK on flights to Rwanda, with the aim of deterring others from crossing the English Channel on small boats.
he dispute with the Irish government over asylum seekers has come about because the Rwanda scheme is having a deterrent effect, Mel Stride told LBC earlier.
Asked whether the UK would accept asylum seekers being sent back across the border into Northern Ireland, Mr Stride told LBC: "We are not in the business of having more illegal migrants in the UK."
He added: "What you are seeing now are the early signs of the deterrent effect works. That's exactly why we are now having this conversation, because we have now passed that legislation.
"The Prime Minister has made it very clear, in 10-12 weeks' time, we are going to be seeing people going onto planes, we are geared up for it, it's going to happen and my view is it's going to work."
But shadow foreign secretary David Lammy told LBC: "I suspect actually as the weather warms up we will see this scheme, I'm afraid, has not deterred many, many people from crossing the Channel.
"I think it's way too premature to say now that we've seen a few people go to Dublin somehow this has been achieved. That's just not going to be the case."
Mr Lammy also called for a "coordinated agreement" with European countries, rather than a "whack-a-mole situation" where compromises were made with individual states as they raised complaints.