STORY
Britain will not have to pay Rwanda tens of millions of pounds over the cancelled asylum agreement, after the Permanent Court of Arbitration rejected Kigali’s financial claims. Rwanda had argued that the UK should still honour payment terms from the deal, which was scrapped by Starmer’s Government in 2024.
Reuters reported that Rwanda was seeking at least £60 million. The arbitration panel found that Rwanda had agreed in diplomatic notes in November 2024 to forgo further payments due in 2025 and 2026. The Government said it had robustly defended its position and repeated its criticism of the previous Conservative scheme.
The ruling is politically useful for ministers, who have repeatedly described the Rwanda policy as expensive and ineffective. However, it also keeps attention on asylum policy and the Government’s broader migration record, which remains one of the most contested areas of British politics.