What happened
The Rwanda scheme was designed to 'stop the boats' by deterring Channel crossings with the threat of deportation to Rwanda. It failed entirely on its own terms: Channel crossings continued to increase while the scheme was in operation, precisely because the scheme never actually sent anyone to Rwanda.
The £700 million was paid across multiple contracts: • £240 million in direct payments to the Rwandan government • £150 million for hotel accommodation for detainees • Hundreds of millions in legal costs, Home Office processing, and bespoke legislation
The Supreme Court's November 2023 judgment was comprehensive and damning. The court found that Rwanda was not safe because: 1. Rwanda's asylum system lacked adequate safeguards 2. People returned to Rwanda faced a real risk of being sent to their country of persecution 3. The evidence relied on by the government was inadequate
The government's response was constitutionally extraordinary: it passed the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024, which stated that Parliament 'declared' Rwanda to be safe and that courts must treat it as such regardless of what the courts found. This was legislation designed to override judicial findings of fact — an attack on the separation of powers.
Sunak's framing that the scheme was 'making progress' and 'the first flights will go' continued until the election. The first flight never went. The total cost per prevented Channel crossing was incalculable because crossings did not decrease.