Boris Johnson hails US plan to deport hundreds of illegal migrants to Rwanda
Washington has already sent an initial list of ten people to be vetted as part of President Donald Trump 's bid to tackle illegal immigration.
Under the terms of the deal, Rwanda will accept up to 250 migrants in exchange for payment – in an agreement similar to that brokered by Boris Johnson.
When he was prime minister, Mr Johnson agreed a deal with Kigali under which anyone who entered Britain illegally would be sent to Rwanda.
But due to legal challenges, no migrants had been successfully deported by the time Keir Starmer won the election last year.
Sir Keir's first act as the incoming Labour PM was to scrap the scheme. Since then, small-boat arrivals have increased dramatically.
As of July 30, more than 25,000 people had crossed the Channel in small boats in 2025 – a figure about 50 per cent higher than it was at the same point in 2024.
Mr Johnson said that Sir Keir had scrapped the scheme out of 'Left-wing spite' and should reinstate it.
He told the Daily Mail: 'Here is proof, if ever it were needed, that Starmer was very sadly misguided in abandoning the Rwanda scheme.
'It would certainly have worked and it would have scuppered the cross-Channel gangs.
'It is heartbreaking to see other countries now taking advantage – yet again – of ideas pioneered by Britain.
'Starmer scrapped Rwanda purely out of Left-wing spite – and he should restore it as soon as possible.'
The White House has not yet commented. But commenting on the deal yesterday, Kigali said that it would accept migrants under certain conditions and rehome them.
'Rwanda has agreed with the United States to accept up to 250 migrants, in part because nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement, and our societal values are founded on reintegration and rehabilitation,' said Rwandan government spokesman Yolande Makolo.
'Under the agreement, Rwanda has the ability to approve each individual proposed for resettlement.
President Donald Trump listens as Rwanda's Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe speaks during a event with Congo's Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, June 27, 2025, in the Oval Office
'Those approved will be provided with workforce training, healthcare and accommodation support to jumpstart their lives in Rwanda, giving them the opportunity to contribute to one of the fastest-growing economies in the world over the last decade.'
In June, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to deport migrants to third countries, though there are continuing lawsuits.
The President has vowed to deport millions of illegal immigrants to third countries.
Mr Trump has already struck similar deals with South Sudan and Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland.
In March, he deported more than 200 Venezuelans accused of being gang members to El Salvador.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
14 minutes ago
- Sky News
Trump vowed to end Ukraine war in first 24 hours of his presidency - nearly 200 days in, could he be close?
Seven hours is a long time in US politics. At 10am, Donald Trump accused Russia of posing a threat to America's national security. By 5pm, Mr Trump said there was a "good prospect" of him meeting Vladimir Putin"soon". There had, he claimed, been "great progress" in talks between his special envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian president. It's difficult to gauge the chances of a meeting between the two leaders without knowing what "great progress" means. Is Russia "inclined" towards agreeing a ceasefire, as Ukraine's president now claims? Is Mr Putin prepared to meet with his Ukrainian foe, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, too? The very fact that we're asking those questions suggests something shifted on a day when there was no expectation of a breakthrough.
The Guardian
14 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Thursday briefing: How the far right is being allowed to shape the immigration debate in the UK
Good morning. Just how many migrants in the UK are undocumented? Tabloid headlines can make it seem like the number is huge, so perhaps a new YouGov poll suggesting a significant gap between public perception and reality should be no surprise. Nearly half of Britons (47%) believe there are more undocumented migrants living in the UK than those here legally. Meanwhile, 45% of respondents said they support stopping all immigration and carrying out deportations of people who have arrived in recent years. Tensions are playing out on the streets, with protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers attracting national attention, including in Epping, Essex, where hundreds of people gathered over several weekends after the arrest of a resident on suspicion of sexual assault. More protests are expected over the next few days. Adding to the pressure, police are also preparing for possible protests in support of Palestine Action over the weekend, despite the group's recent proscription as a terrorist organisation. Officers have warned that anyone carrying placards or banners expressing support could face arrest and incarceration in our already overcrowded prisons. So who is behind the anti-immigration protests, and what's driving them? And could this weekend become a flashpoint? To explore this further, I spoke to the Guardian's senior reporter Ben Quinn, who has spent years reporting on the far right. US immigration | A new report found hundreds of credible reported cases of human rights abuses in US immigration detention centres. The alleged abuses uncovered include physical and sexual abuse of detainees. Protest | Naomi Klein and Angela Davis are among dozens of international scholars and writers who have signed a letter to the Guardian calling on the UK government to reverse the ban on Palestine Action. Russia | Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff have held talks in Moscow, two days before a Friday deadline the US president set for Russia to reach a peace deal in the Ukraine war. Spain | A local authority in south-east Spain has banned Muslims from using public facilities such as civic centres and gyms to celebrate the religious festivals Eid. The ban in Jumilla, in Murcia, is a first in Spain. UK news | The Bank of England is poised to cut interest rates on Thursday despite a growing divide between its policymakers over the dangers to the economy from high inflation and rising unemployment. Estimates of the population of undocumented migrants living in the UK range from 120,000 to 1.3 million, with Reform UK's Zia Yusuf recently putting the figure at 1.2 million. Regardless, that number doesn't come close to those living in the UK legally: the 2021-22 census (pdf) put the entire foreign-born population of the UK at 10.7 million. But lies travel fast on social media – especially if they chime with existing worries or prejudice. The news last year that three girls attending a dance class in Southport were stabbed to death sent out shockwaves. As the local community gathered to mourn, a piece of disinformation – that the attacker had come to the UK on a small boat – quickly spread on social media. That sparked protests, which were very quickly exploited by far-right activists. The protests exploded, with anti-migrant rioters attacking mosques, setting fire to asylum hotels, and assaulting black and minority ethnic people. It's been a year since, but the anger has not dissipated. Instead, it is slowly hardening into a movement. Anti-immigration protests have taken place across the country and while most have remained peaceful, some have not. The BBC reported that 15 people across the country have been arrested in recent days while protesting outside hotels used to house asylum seekers. 'We're in what Joe Mulhall of Hope Not Hate calls the 'post-organisational era' of the far right,' says Ben. 'It's not about formal parties and memberships. It's about individuals loosely linked via social media, people who might never meet in person but have significant influence, especially on platforms like X. That all feeds into gatherings and protests, which then spill over into violence, as we saw after Southport.' He added that protests outside asylum hotels have always happened. The Bell Hotel in Epping, which has seen recent large scale protests, has actually been targeted since 2021. But these protests, once considered fringe events, are becoming a fixture. 'If you place Reform UK as a hard-right populist party, the groups we're seeing at the protest sit further to the right,' Ben told me. 'For a while, Patriotic Alternative was the main far-right group, but it's in decline now, as a result of infighting. A newer group, Homeland Party, was set up by former far-right members and has drawn people away from Patriotic Alternative.' But he warned that we have to be careful when discussing who is involved. 'They are clearly organised far-right activists who are attempting to exploit local grievances and are using misinformation to whip up feelings, but in some cases, such as Epping, the protests have included local people who are unaffiliated with organised far-right groups. There is a grey area which is difficult to determine in some cases.' He added that the big shadow over all of this is Tommy Robinson. 'He's the epitome of that post-organisational far right. He's an influencer and clearly an activist, and he's got a universe of people around him, who in many cases include football hooligans.' Robinson tried to amplify protests in Islington and Canary Wharf, targeting hotels thought to house asylum seekers, Ben explained. There are also other figures forming a constellation of newer far-right influencers who have attached themselves to this. Are all the protesters far-right agitators? While notable far-right figures have been spotted speaking at the protests, Ben has spoken to many who wouldn't align themselves with those groups, but are still frustrated with the country's asylum policies. 'It's really important to not discount the fact that people in these communities have agency of their own to go and protest and they can feel very strongly about things. They have views on the asylum system, they have views on events in the news,' Ben said. 'There is a debate to be had, and many media organisations will be having it, about how these protests should be described. I spoke to a local woman in Essex who said 'we're turning up here because a teenager was allegedly sexually assaulted by a man who was in this hostel. We want to turn up and show we're not happy with this'. Are they far right purely for taking part in that protest? They would say of course not. But should they turn away from a protest when it becomes clear that it is being hijacked by neo-Nazis and far-right groups? Some would say, yes, they should.' Will this weekend be a flashpoint? There is widespread reporting of a 'no asylum day of action' today, but Ben believes it is not clear whether it's a real national action or a meme that has taken on a life of its own. He pointed to an incident last year where someone published a list of immigration advice centres across the country, but the protests didn't materialise. There is some evidence to show that momentum around some of these protests is beginning to slow down. 'It feels like the heat has come out of Epping a little bit. At the last protest, anti-racism activists and trade unionists outnumbered the protest against that hotel. And that was a place far-right activists had very clearly wanted to turn it into pilgrimage every weekend. But now it seems that perhaps the focus has shifted. It might be because lots of local people were turned off by the violence which erupted on the sidelines of those protests. But the problem is, we now have lots of others elsewhere,' Ben said. There is now widespread attention in Nuneaton because of another alleged sexual assault case there, involving a 12-year-old alleged victim. Reform council leader George Finch made comments that may be in contempt of court and have inflamed tensions, Ben said. Protests are planned at the council HQ. Other hotspots include Cannock and Waterlooville, which recently saw a thousand people protesting, he added. 'In places like London and Essex, anti-racist activists can mobilise very quickly in large numbers and also draw some local support and outnumber the far right. But you also have other places where there are large groups of local people who are unattached with the far right, gathering in large numbers and then you have the far right exploiting them.' How has the government responded? There has been a notable difference in the government's response to this year's protests outside asylum hotels. 'After Southport, Keir Starmer called them 'far-right riots'. He hasn't done that this time, even though the far right is heavily involved. Labour seems worried about alienating voters on immigration,' Ben said. He added that many are also critical of Starmer and Yvette Cooper for failing to condemn the racist language heard at some of these protests. And the possibility of further national riots loom. 'There's potential,' said Ben, 'because we're in August. The weather's hot and rain is always one of the things that keeps people off the street. You have misinformation, the far right and others colonising local Facebook groups, with Nigel Farage and Reform amplifying many of the messages from the protests. 'And then you have a stretched police force as well' – stretched not only by anti-migrant protests, but by a wave of demonstrations this weekend, with hundreds expected to defy terrorism legislation to rally in support of Palestine Action. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The two protests will paint a stark picture of modern Britain. On one side, police in soft caps are expected to make mass arrests, mostly of elderly people or students, with little anticipation of violence. On the other, riot vans and officers in full gear will line the streets at anti-migrant demonstrations, prepared for the possibility that unrest could erupt once again. As many as 80,000 people in Hiroshima were killed instantly when the US dropped the first nuclear bomb this week in August 1945. A year later, John Hersey published an astonishingly accomplished and shocking account of life for six survivors in the immediate aftermath. In these dark times, it is vital, devastating reading – as are Justin McCurry's conversations with survivors (above) today. Craille Maguire Gillies, newsletters team This jaw dropping joint investigation by the Guardian's Harry Davies and +972 Magazine's Yuval Abraham reveals how the Israeli military stored a giant trove of Palestinians' phone calls on Microsoft's servers in Europe. Aamna Ian Sample sorts fact from social media fiction to look at whether sunscreen is toxic and how it actually works. Craille Sense and Sensibility returns to UK cinemas three decades after it first premiered. I loved this review by the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw and I will definitely be catching it on the big screen. Aamna I enjoyed Jason Okundaye's account of his first trip to the Caribbean, for The Long Wave (sign up here). He gleaned a 'thrilling education in its heritage and history' – and made time for some fun, admitting the Foreday Morning Jam in Bridgetown, Barbados, 'completely unravelled me'. Craille Football | News that the former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, who appeared in a London court on Tuesday charged with rape and sexual assault, is poised to join Villarreal has upset fans, with hundreds signing a petition urging a halt to a deal. Football | Everton have completed the signing of midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Chelsea for a fee that could rise to £28m. Cricket | An unnamed former county cricket coach has been suspended from the sport for nine months after admitting charges of sexual misconduct. The independent cricket discipline panel has declined to identify the individual due to a 'serious risk of harm' if his name were made public. The Guardian print edition leads with 'Leading academics call on UK to reverse ban on Palestine Action'. The Times has 'Wealthier areas face big rises in council tax' while the Telegraph says 'Starmer's pledge on tax thrown into chaos' (by the black hole). The Express claims 'Labour's tax war is harming economy', citing poll results. 'I'm a doctor, get me out of here!' – the Metro reports one in five want to emigrate. The i paper runs with 'Labour's minister for homelessness ejects her tenants – and hikes rent'. The Financial Times hauls on an oft-tolled alarm bell: 'Company directors' exodus gathering pace after non-dom tax breaks halted'. The Daily Mail brings us 'HMRC staff hold class on 'guilt of being British'' and adds that 'Kemi' is against it. 'Cosmetic cowboys crackdown' – dodgy surgery will be stamped out after a 'Mirror campaign' says that paper. Has the digital nomad dream turned sour? Alex Holder loves her new life in Lisbon but has become increasingly uneasy that people like her might be damaging the cities they love. A bit of good news to remind you that the world's not all bad Last week, the award-winning environmental journalist Alec Luhn set out on a four-day solo walk in Norway's remote Folgefonna national park, home to one of the world's biggest glaciers. On Monday, Luhn, a seasoned mountain walker, was reported missing after he didn't turn up for his flight home to the UK. A volunteer search and rescue team from the Red Cross, police, dogs and drones searched throughout Monday for Luhn but were hampered by poor weather. The search continued and on Wednesday, Luhn – a Pulitzer Center fellow – was found alive after surviving almost a week with a seriously injured leg. 'I can't remember us finding someone alive after so many days,' said Stig Hope, head of the operations leadership team at Folgefonna and a Red Cross volunteer. Luhn's sister, Drew Gaddis, thanked the many rescuers involved in finding him: 'We can breathe again!' Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday And finally, the Guardian's puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply
Reuters
40 minutes ago
- Reuters
Breakingviews - US punitive tariffs put India in a corner
HONG KONG, Aug 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A worst-case scenario for India on U.S. tariffs is now the base case. New Delhi called Donald Trump's decision on Wednesday to double the levy on the South Asian nation's goods to 50% because of its Russian oil purchases "extremely unfortunate". That's an understatement. Negotiating down this high rate before it goes into effect in three weeks is now an urgent priority for Narendra Modi - and will require a major compromise from the Indian leader. The new rate can inflict serious pain on the $4 trillion economy. New Delhi failed to lower the initial 25% tariff unveiled by the U.S. president on April 2. That was bad but didn't leave India much worse off than its peers. Analysts at Citi, a U.S. bank, warn the higher levy could trim 80 basis points or more off GDP growth, which logged in at 6.5% in the year to March, and make exports to the U.S. "unviable". These amounted to $87 billion last year. Such a dramatic fallout would require the government to support its exporters, either through fiscal backing or a weakening of the currency. Both are deeply unattractive prospects because India's fiscal deficit is widening on the back of lower tax receipts and a stable rupee has underpinned its message to global investors and companies that the country is open for business. Now that India is backed into a corner, the simplest solution to stabilise ties with its largest trading partner is to stop buying Russian oil which comprises 40% of total crude imports. Though Modi's administration insists that those purchases are a "national compulsion", India can easily manage without the waning discounts from Moscow, and even more so if global oil prices remain little moved by this prospect--as they have so far. To be sure, giving Russia a cold shoulder would be a blow to India's effort to maintain a multi-polar foreign policy, but a 50% tariff is too much to bear and retaliating could cost it even more. The U.S. only backed down from its escalating standoff with China after the People's Republic squeezed supplies of rare earths, a sector where it has 90% of processing capacity. Though India supplies about 65% of generic drugs in the U.S. and American companies depend heavily on Indian IT services, these are easier to replicate elsewhere. Whether Trump will succeed in forcing China to give up Russian oil is unclear. India, though, has a weaker hand and little capacity to bluff. Follow Una Galani on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab.
