Previous UK Govt planned to spend £10 billion to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, minister says

The new UK Labour government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has canceled a controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, which had been proposed by the previous Conservative government and was set to cost £10 billion, Reuters reported.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper revealed that the plan had already cost taxpayers £700 million, including payments to Rwanda and costs for chartered flights and officials.

He added that the government will now process the asylum claims of those left in limbo and reverse a provision barring asylum for those arriving illegally since March last year.

According to Cooper, this policy shift is expected to save taxpayers £7 billion over the next decade and aims to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers while clearing the claims backlog.