Rishi Sunak ‘hoped to block’ project to send migrants out to Rwanda when he was Chancellor
- The leadership contender has vowed to keep Mr Johnson’s immigration policy
- The controversial £120m scheme deports asylum seekers to the African nation
- Cabinet sources claimed Mr Sunak opposed the policy as being too expensive
Rishi Sunak tried to block Boris Johnson’s Rwanda policy when he was Chancellor, senior sources said last night.
The leadership contender has vowed to keep Mr Johnson’s flagship immigration policy of deporting asylum seekers to the east African nation.
Last week, he spoke in support of the controversial £120 million scheme ‘as the child and grandchild of immigrants’ to Britain.
Cabinet sources have told The Mail on Sunday that Mr Sunak opposed the policy as being too expensive – and tried to block it from going ahead
But Cabinet sources have told The Mail on Sunday that Mr Sunak opposed the policy as being too expensive – and tried to block it from going ahead.
It is understood that he voiced his concerns when Home Secretary Priti Patel informed the Cabinet of the plans, which had been guarded for months.
But during the leadership race Mr Sunak insisted he would keep the policy, saying it was needed to stop criminal gangs putting people’s lives at risk.
Mr Sunak told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I think it’s absolutely critical that we have control of our borders, and I say that as the child and grandchild of immigrants.’
Mr Sunak is one of five contenders for leadership of the Conservative party. During the leadership race, Mr Sunak (pictured here during the first Conservative leadership debate) insisted he would keep the policy, saying it was needed to stop criminal gangs putting people’s lives at risk
The first flight to deport migrants to Rwanda was blocked last month after a last-minute intervention by the European Court of Human Rights.
A spokesman for Mr Sunak’s campaign said: ‘Rishi will tackle the issue of illegal migration head on and make sure the policy is delivered if he is made Prime Minister.’
Source: Read Full Article