After Starmer nixing Sunak’s Rwanda plan, Germany wants UK's facilities to deport immigrants

The United Kingdom’s Rwanda deportation plan– the one where the government would pay the African nation to send around 200 immigrants there– was scrapped by the new Labour government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The controversial plan, originally devised by the Conservative government of Rishi Sunak, aimed to deter illegal migration by sending asylum seekers to Rwanda. However, it faced multiple legal challenges and was never implemented.

Despite the plan’s termination, however, accommodation funded by the UK remains in place in Rwanda, with some facilities reportedly ready to house migrants.

None other that Germany has seen an opportunity here.

The country may use facilities funded by the UK in Rwanda to process some asylum seekers, according to Joachim Stamp, the country’s migration agreements commissioner, BBC reported.

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Stamp, a member of the Free Democratic Party, proposed that accommodation originally intended for individuals deported from the UK could be repurposed for Germany’s asylum processing needs.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has previously expressed scepticism about processing asylum applications in third countries, raising doubts about the proposal’s future. Scholz, in November, stated that while he would examine the possibility of outsourcing asylum applications, significant legal concerns persist.

Germany, like the UK, faces increasing pressure to address illegal migration, particularly after the far-right Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party made electoral gains. Speaking on the Table Briefings podcast, Mr. Stamp noted that while no third country other than Rwanda had come forward, the scheme could target migrants crossing the EU’s eastern borders and be supervised by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

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Despite the lack of formal discussions, Conservative politicians in the UK have criticised Labour for scrapping the Rwanda plan. Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly said, “Labour’s first move in government was to scrap the Rwanda plan. Now Germany wants to use the facilities we built.” He argued that Labour’s immigration policies benefit smugglers and EU states at the UK’s expense.

The UK government has previously indicated that it would explore options to recoup some of the £220 million paid to Rwanda as part of the scrapped agreement, though Rwanda’s government insists it is under no obligation to return the funds.