Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has hosted Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Downing Street amid reports that properties in Kigali earmarked for the UK’s stalled deportation scheme have instead been sold to local buyers.
The meeting between the two leaders on Tuesday was overshadowed by former home secretary Suella Braverman’s criticism of “fallen expectations” over the 163 affordable homes on the Bwiza Riverside Estate in Kigali.
Journalists asked Mr Kagame as he entered Number 10 whether the housing is being sold off but he did not respond.
A Downing Street spokesman said the two men discussed “the pioneering UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership, which will break the business model of criminal gangs risking lives at sea, and the Prime Minister updated President Kagame on the next stages of the legislation in Parliament”.
“Both leaders looked forward to flights departing to Rwanda in the spring,” the spokesman added.
Some 70% of the 163 properties in the Rwandan capital have now been purchased, meaning there is only space for a few dozen asylum seekers, the Times reported.
Ms Braverman, who has increasingly been a thorn in the Prime Minister’s side since she was sacked from her Cabinet role last year, said she is disappointed at the state of the Government’s asylum plan.
She previously described the homes built as part of 257-unit scheme as “beautiful” and complimented the interior design.
The prices of the properties, funded as part of a public-private partnership between the Kigali government and ADHI Corporate Group, range between £14,000 and £27,000.
A manager at the estate said the homes have been sold to “private people who want to live in them”.
Speaking to LBC, Ms Braverman said: “I’m disappointed to read that expectations have fallen and that the Rwandans are now selling off some of those properties.”
She added: “The only way we generate a deterrent effect to stop people getting on the boats and coming to the UK illegally is regular flights, with hundreds of passengers on those flights being sent to Rwanda on a regular basis.
“I’m afraid the plan, as it stands today, won’t deliver that.”
Labour demanded “urgent clarity” on the Rwanda scheme “farce” following the Times report, calling on the Prime Minister to address it directly while the Commons is away on Easter recess.
Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said: “Now it seems there will be even less capacity to house those that are removed. The Tories’ so-called plan is unravelling by the day and taxpayers are footing the bill. It’s time for change.”
According to latest Home Office figures, 82 migrants were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats on Monday, taking the total so far this year to 5,517.
A Home Office spokesman said: “As the government of Rwanda have made repeatedly clear, they stand ready to host thousands of migrants under the partnership.
“The scheme is uncapped and provisions are in place to provide accommodation as required. We remain focused on getting flights off the ground as soon as possible.”
The Rwandan government has disputed the amount of properties that have been sold privately and insisted the scheme is one of several estates for migrants.
