The Archbishop, who is the head of the Church of England, also reiterated his view that “there are serious ethical questions about using ‘deterrence’ to stop asylum seekers trying to reach our shores”. “Like many, I oppose sending vulnerable and traumatized people more than 4,000 miles away without their consent, and paying another country to … Read more
Asked about the BBC’s coverage of the issue, Ms Patel said: “I was questioned by them last week, in Rwanda. They had a traveling delegation with us. And I was quite taken aback just by the tone of references to Rwanda. “I’ve already referenced the type of undercurrent, without actually understanding the details, and not … Read more
Immigration has long been a toxic political issue. Recently, the rise of the National Front, and then the BNP, was mirrored across Europe. Today, in the UK, we have further controversy, this time over the Nationality and Borders Bill, currently facing deadlock between the Commons and the Lords. Two related elements are creating the current … Read more
LOrd Bew, chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission (Holac), has told MPs there was “no pressure” exerted on them when it came to granting a peerage to Lord Lebedev. Questions have been raised over whether Boris Johnson asked anyone in the security services to revise, reconsider or withdraw their assessment of the media … Read more
On the same morning, the Archbishop of York joined the Archbishop of Canterbury in criticizing the plan to send migrants to Rwanda. In his Easter Sunday sermon at York Minster, Stephen Cottrell said he had found it “so depressing and distressing this week to find that asylum seekers fleeing war, famine and oppression from deeply, … Read more
Priti Patel’s local bishop has accused her of misunderstanding the role of the church in the continuing row over the Rwanda migrant deal. Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford and a former asylum seeker, wrote to the Home Secretary on Monday to express her full backing for the Archbishop of Canterbury, who described the Rwanda proposal … Read more
The Telegraph understands that at least one other country has contacted the Government to explore a similar deal to the one with Rwanda, which involves Britain giving economic support in exchange for handling refugees. Under the plans, refugees who are approved in Rwanda will then be allowed to stay, rather than being repatriated to the … Read more