When the UK government put together the Rwandan refugee plan, they must have known it was illegal. Someone would have advised them that there would be a legal challenge and they would lose.

So, why did they do it? Why did they waste £160 million on a ‘cash for humans’ scheme that was never going to work? I am only an amateur observer but it looks to me that there were two reasons. Red meat to throw to their far right voting base, and some good old deadcatting.

Immigration Omnishambles

The immigration policy in this country is such an omnishambles, it’s hard to know where to start. It’s impossible even, to work out whether it is incompetence or a calculated mismanagement to create a populist problem that will get voters in a froth. Possibly a bit of both?

It may also be part of a money making scam. This is where government contractors are buying up hotels, turning them into prison camps and charging per immigrant. Interestingly, Serco (of Test & Trace fame) are involved. They certainly don’t miss out on a scam when it’s on offer.

Failure of Process and the Dublin Regulation

The crux of the matter is the failed processing of claims. The backlog is so huge it’s gridlocked. This isn’t purely down to the numbers crossing but the failure to process. This could be for all number of reasons, including lack of funding, poor systems, and of course, Brexit.

Coming out of the EU and therefore, the Dublin Regulation is taking its toll. In simple terms, if an immigrant had arrived via France or Italy and was deemed to have entered the EU illegally, we could send them back to the country they arrived in. Now we are no longer part of the Dublin Regulation there is nowhere to send them. A cynic might say that France, for example, might be happy for the bad guys to come here now they know we can’t send them back.

A Right old Mess

So, it’s a right old mess. To keep this blog short, let’s get back to Rwanda. Since 2020, there have been 35 Rwandans who have claimed asylum in the UK. 21 of these cases have granted. This is because the people claiming asylum have convinced the Home Office they are not safe.

The last time I checked, the policy to send immigrants to Rwanda was because it was deemed a ‘safe country’. If Rwandan nationals are claiming and being granted asylum due to being persecuted by their own people, I don’t hold out much hope for foreigners.

It won’t be long before a persecuted Rwandan national who has successfully claimed asylum in the UK is deported on a plane to Rwanda because it is a safe country. I just know it is going to happen.

This government is not only useless, it’s as bent as Rwandan 9 Franc note.