In a series of developments surrounding the UK's controversial plan to deport migrants to Rwanda, a significant portion of the homes initially earmarked for these migrants has been sold to local Rwandans, casting doubt on the feasibility of the scheme. Reports indicate that over 70% of the properties, part of a £500 million investment by the UK in the Rwandan housing project, have been purchased by locals, leaving only a limited number of accommodations available for deported migrants. The Rwandan state-owned airline, RwandAir, has also rejected a proposal from the UK government to transport asylum seekers, citing concerns over potential damage to its brand. Amid these challenges, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame to discuss the future of the deportation scheme. Sunak remains defiant, vowing not to let foreign courts interfere with the plan, even as he faces opposition within his Cabinet and criticism for potentially breaching international legal obligations.
Sunak facing Cabinet revolt after threatening to quit ECHR if Rwanda flights are blocked https://t.co/7MOcaE5lWx
Cabinet splits emerge over quitting European Convention on Human Rights https://t.co/LqEmojBoQG
JJ Anisiobi says asylum seekers could be deported from the UK if “we were less beholding to our own laws,” after the Rwandan state airline rejected Sunak’s deportation plan. @EJWoolf | @drdavidbull | @daisymcandrew | @thejamesmax https://t.co/0xn3cB2HFh
Rishi Sunak says 'enough is enough' as he vows to ignore ECHR on Rwanda deportation flights https://t.co/XHjgkHA42f
Some 150 hotels will no longer be needed to house asylum-seekers, the Government says, as Rishi Sunak vows to get his Rwanda plan off the ground https://t.co/icJntzCOXK
🔴 Sunak says ‘enough is enough’ as he vows to ignore ECHR over Rwanda flights https://t.co/MPdWRnc6td
🔺 NEW: Rishi Sunak will face opposition from at least 12 cabinet ministers if he opts to quit the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), The Times can disclose ⬇️ https://t.co/FE6jmCS57F
Rwandan state airline 'turns down' UK proposal to transport asylum seekers https://t.co/XBpoGNEzGw
Airline which previously refused to fly migrants to Rwanda is in fresh talks with the Home Office, LBC understands https://t.co/RUklSeHHmj
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the UK will not let foreign courts block his plan to deport migrants to Rwanda https://t.co/C7eTOGmopN
An aviation company that supplies air tankers to the RAF is being targeted by a charity over its potential role in flying illegal migrants to Rwanda. https://t.co/if8kT5ip1U https://t.co/xlTQhjEurP
Home Office under pressure to clarify which airline will operate Rwanda flights https://t.co/Xj4eC4q8v9
🔴 Aviation company supplying RAF targeted by protesters over Rwanda flights https://t.co/e5agQyC5pa
🔴 Senior Tories urge Rishi Sunak to take Britain out of European Convention on Human Rights after landmark decision Read more 👇 https://t.co/PLgXNAYDIo https://t.co/XcvX8p70N3
Such grim irony. Now we hear Rwandan state airline refuses to fly our outsourced asylum seekers to Kigali due to reputational damage of doing so. Can barely keep up with the revelations showing how cruel & wrong Sunak’s Rwanda policy is in both principle & practice https://t.co/hGP0JA2tWU
🚨 NEW: Rwanda's state-owned airline RwandAir has turned down Rishi Sunak's proposal to fly migrants there because it feared damaging its brand [@FT]
🗳️ Half of Tory voters want to quit European Convention on Human Rights https://t.co/OTuFD2fhf6
'President Kigame has had enough and decided to put his own people first. He is prioritising the living conditions of his own citizens.' @PatrickChristys reacts to Rwanda selling off houses earmarked for illegal immigrants sent there under the £500m Rwanda Plan. https://t.co/k7wIwwW13F
Rishi Sunak holds talks with Rwandan president - amid fresh doubts over deportation scheme https://t.co/a9IpEjQtTc
NEW: Rwanda’s state-owned airline RwandAir turned down a UK government proposal to transport asylum seekers to Kigali last year because it feared damaging its brand W/ @WWFTUK 1/3 https://t.co/iwKV5DnTY0
“Rwanda was never the answer!” The Times' Hugo Rifkind says the Government needs to look at other solutions for illegal migrants, after Rwanda sold properties earmarked for asylum seekers to locals. @hugorifkind https://t.co/dHJQzCe0JA
With the Rwandan government now selling off accommodation that had been earmarked for migrants sent by the UK, 66% of Britons think it is unlikely any migrants will ever be deported to the African nation https://t.co/o6qePYPVxe
As @RishiSunak says he “looks forward to flights departing for Rwanda” a reminder that his plan to achieve it involves disaplying human rights, putting the UK in breach of it’s international legal obligations & a shameless power grab that will put the Government above the law https://t.co/znopQOW2df
As the President of #Rwanda pays a lightning (and untrailed) visit to @RishiSunak the Home Office brushes off the Times story that housing set aside for asylum seekers in Rwanda has been sold off - "they stand ready to host thousands of migrants under the Partnership" says HO
The Prime Minister met the Rwandan president on Tuesday amid reports that more than 100 properties earmarked for migrants deported from Britain tp the African nation have been sold https://t.co/oNW1XITTzg
President Kagame is in Downing Street today. The government wants to say it will deliver the Rwanda scheme, once it passes the bill through the Lords and Commons, though the clock is ticking ahead of the Rwandan and UK elections this year. https://t.co/EuPtkhygwO
A few weeks ago a source told me that AirTanker (who provide jets to RAF) are considering again whether to operate flights to Rwanda. Have had no response to emails sent to them. Two years ago they told the charity @FreefromTorture they wouldn’t operate flights https://t.co/yMRawAmVzZ
"A manager at the estate in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, said they had gone to 'private people who want to live in them', leaving space for only a few dozen migrants if flights ever take off." Suella's dream in tatters. ~AA https://t.co/mGHJ0AsTHC https://t.co/UEg0fSzWyf
Oh look ! Remember those beautiful Rwandan homes (where Braverman famously "plumped up" the cushions, complimenting their interior designers) - built from the £500 million the UK is sending Kigali ? Rwandans have, we read, already bought up 70% of them Of course they have 🤡 https://t.co/OG0wiutYg5
Rwandan homes earmarked for deported migrants sold to locals https://t.co/2FK5RPPZO6 @Conservatives @RishiSunak So you still think it’s going to happen? Give up. Get the money back. Now.