The Rwandan government has launched legal action against the UK to seek payments it claims it is owed under a scrapped migrant deal between the two countries.
Rwanda has filed a case with the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, arguing the UK has failed to honour commitments made in a deal to send some asylum seekers to the African nation.
Under the deal, which was signed by the previous Conservative government, the UK agreed to make payments to Rwanda to host asylum seekers and support its economy.
But after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer axed the deal in 2024, the Home Office said £220m in scheduled future payments will not have to be paid to Rwanda.
A Home Office spokesperson said: The previous government's Rwanda policy wasted vast sums of taxpayer time and money.
We will robustly defend our position to protect British taxpayers.
The Rwandan government has not responded to the BBC's requests for comment. However, the country's ministry of foreign affairs pointed us towards an article about the arbitration proceedings published in the New Times, a Rwandan newspaper.
The article indicates that the arbitration concerns the performance of specific commitments under the treaty.
The previous Conservative administration spent approximately £700m on the Rwanda policy, which was intended to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. Only four volunteers arrived in Rwanda when the deal was operational, prompting Sir Keir to declare the initiative dead and buried shortly after Labour gained power in the 2024 general election.
The deal included a break clause, allowing either party to terminate the agreement through written notice. The £700m expenditure included £290m designated for Rwanda.
In December 2024, the Home Office indicated further payments totaling £100m were anticipated under the treaty, split as £50m for the financial years 2025-26 and 2026-27, plus an additional £120m upon transferring 300 individuals to Rwanda.
The New Times article cites a government adviser stating Rwanda had engaged in diplomatic exchanges before initiating arbitration.
Michael Butera, chief technical adviser to Rwanda's minister of justice, said: Through arbitration, Rwanda seeks a legal determination of the parties' respective rights and obligations under the treaty, in accordance with international law.
As per the treaty signed by Rwanda and the UK, both parties agreed that any disputes unresolved through negotiation would be taken to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
The PCA, based in The Hague, Netherlands, serves as a platform for resolving international disputes between states and can issue binding, final rulings if the parties cannot reconcile their differences.
Rwanda initiated the arbitration process under the asylum partnership agreement in November, with the PCA currently listing the case's status as pending. The arbitration body usually establishes a timetable for presenting arguments, and resolutions can take years.
Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, remarked that the legal action is yet another catastrophic consequence of Labour's decision to scrap the Rwanda scheme before it even took effect. He asserted that the British taxpayer now faces a substantial bill due to Labour's decisions.
The UK government previously announced it was examining the potential for recouping funds after aborting the scheme, but the Rwandan government insisted it holds no obligation to refund any money.
