Miguel Berger, the German ambassador to the United Kingdom, has been forced to step in to fact-check claims made by the Daily Mail after it was reported that Germany is “planning to use the Rwanda plan”.
The right-wing newspaper cleared its front page on Friday (6/9) to suggest Germany is looking at sending illegal migrants to facilities “paid for by Britain”, but the claims are probably not all they seem.
Posting on X, Berger pointed out that the discussion around Rwanda only relates to processing asylum applications under international humanitarian law and with the support of the United Nations.
The UK’s proposals, which have now been binned by the Labour administration, were to send asylum seekers to East Africa indefinitely as a deterrent to those making the journey in the first place.
Sir Keir Starmer was also asked by the BBC if he was wrong to end the Tory policy in light of the reports in the Daily Mail, to which he replied: “No, it was a gimmick. It cost us £700 million to persuade four volunteers to go to Rwanda.
“We’re going to use that money on operational matters.”
Speaking at a summit aimed at tackling the small boats crisis, Sir Keir added: “And I think the Germans have already cleared up that they’re not using the Rwanda plan, and that’s because they’ve concluded – like we have – that it won’t work.
“We’re going to concentrate on what works. That means taking down the gangs that are running this trade.”
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