Rwanda Bill shows Tory disdain for humanity and the rule of law - Angus Robertson

​It says a lot that the unelected House of Lords have been the ones who have sought to moderate the Tories’ disgraceful Rwanda policy. The Tory government in the House of Commons instead continues to push for the contemptibly callous and ultimately ineffectual policy.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomes the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, to 10 Downing Street, for talks last week. Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

The ‘Safety of Rwanda Bill’ would see the government create a new law to override a judicial ruling that Rwanda was not a ‘safe country’ to deport asylum seekers to. The court found that there were substantial grounds for believing that asylum seekers sent to Rwanda would face a real risk of ill-treatment. It shows Rishi Sunak’s complete disdain for the judicial oversight which should play an integral role in any democracy. Plainly it also shows his lack of humanity or empathy for those who are fleeing war and persecution.

The House of Lords’ amendments did call for the UK Government to have ‘due regard’ for international law and prevent Rwanda being unilaterally declared a ‘safe country’ against the Supreme Court’s judgement. They also proposed some limiting and, in relative terms, more palatable amendments that would, for example, give an exemption to deportation to Rwanda for “agents, allies and employees” of the UK abroad, like Afghan interpreters. But the Lords ultimately can’t stop the legislation from passing, because they must bow to the elected chamber.

Consequently the Tories’ position remains unaltered and their pursuit of the stark and sadistic version of the Rwanda policy is as alive as ever.

Now, this policy is so toxic that the government is still failing to find an airline carrier willing to take the flights. Rwanda’s state airline has rejected the government’s plea because of reputational risk.

Meanwhile, in Rwanda itself the houses which were supposed to be housing migrants long before now—which former Home Secretary Suella Braverman travelled to the country to launch and joke about their interior design—have been sold off to locals instead.

If Rwanda falls through, we can be sure the UK Government will pursue an equally insane alternative. Indeed, so desperate is Sunak’s government to deport migrants, it is reported that Britain entered talks last year with Armenia, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast and Botswana for potential deporting locations. It also had Cape Verde, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Angola and Sierra Leone lined up in reserve. They earmarked Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Brazil and Colombia as potential options and were given a flat-out ‘no’ from Morocco, Tunisia, Namibia and The Gambia. It reeks of desperation.

All this plays into a wider narrative of sheer populist, costly nonsense about immigration policy more broadly. We can do so much better than this medieval approach to immigration. Not least because Scotland needs immigration and we have a proud history of welcoming refugees.

Importantly key industries have skills gaps and our NHS needs staff to function better. We need to balance our ageing population which, at the current rate, will place even greater stresses on our public services with fewer people of working age to pay for it. We should be welcoming those who can contribute to our economy and society.

The Tories need to be booted away from government as far as possible. In every Tory seat in Scotland, the SNP are the closest challengers by far. To rid Scotland of these far-right conspiracist Tories, vote SNP.