Rishi Sunak accused of ‘hushing up’ £100 million extra paid to Rwanda
Rishi Sunak is facing calls for an ethics probe after for failing to declare a £100 million payment to Rwanda.
Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine said it was “outrageous” that the public was “kept in the dark about the true costs of the Rwanda deal for eight months”, urging the Prime Minister‘s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, to look into the failure to declare the latest payment under the asylum policy.
The payment – paid to Kigali in April on top of the £140 million already paid to set up the scheme despite no asylum seekers being sent – was only revealed in a letter to MPs sent by the Home Office’s top civil servant, Sir Matthew Rycroft, on Thursday.
“The public deserves transparency, not hushed-up backroom dealings. We need an urgent inquiry to get to the bottom of this,” Ms Jardine said.
In a letter to Sir Laurie, she argued that Mr Sunak appears to have committed a “clear breach” of the ministerial code, pointing to the section stating that “ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public”, and called for the ethics advisor to investigate the matter.
While Sir Laurie can privately raise matters that could constitute rule breaches, he cannot launch an investigation without approval from the Prime Minister himself.
Sir Matthew also revealed an extra £50 million is expected to be paid next year for the scheme that has been stalled by legal challenges, taking the total known cost to £290 million.
Downing Street has insisted the Prime Minister has not misled the Commons over the payments amid anger over how and when they were disclosed.
No 10 also said the latest payment was signed off by since-sacked home secretary Suella Braverman.
Ms Jardine said: “The lack of clarity on whether it was Downing Street or the Home Office who signed off the payment just adds to the confusion.”
Asked by reporters who signed off the additional payments, Mr Sunak’s deputy spokesperson said it was “the home secretary” – adding that is an “operational decision to release funding” under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rwanda.
The spokeswoman denied that the PM had left people with the impression that the figure initially quoted was going to be the final cost, and said that it was “clear” deals with Rwanda involved subsequent funding.
Pressed on whether the PM had a hand in signing off the extra cash, the spokeswoman said: “No. It’s part of the existing MoU, so it’s an operational decision for the home secretary to sign off. That’s the usual process.”
Sir Matthew’s letter also revealed that the money was ordered to be paid via a ministerial direction, which means senior civil servants had initially refused to sign off the cash, reportedly due to concerns over value for money.
Some Tories have attacked the additional costs, with one party activist telling i that the “substantial amount of taxpayer money” being sent to Rwanda was “frustrating”.
“It adds to a sense that the Government has lost control of the narrative and is desperate to throw any amount of money at the problem to regain it,” one Tory said.
Asked if Mr Sunak thought the deal and extra payments were a good use of taxpayer money, the PM’s deputy spokesperson said the partnership was an important part of the Government’s long-term plan to address immigration.
