Rishi Sunak's Rwanda Bill won in the House of Commons by a majority of 44
The CEO Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, has said he does not believe the Government’s Safety of Rwanda Bill will act as a deterrent for illegal immigration.
Speaking on GB News he said:
“What the Bill means is refugees from countries such as Afghanistan, and we know what's going on in Afghanistan – refugees from those countries will not be given a fair hearing in the UK, they will be forcibly shipped to Rwanda.
“As a nation, we've always given refugees a fair hearing when they've come here, having taken dangerous journeys, and many refugees from Afghanistan who've had to take those dangerous journeys have gone on to settle in the UK, to rebuild their lives to contribute as law abiding citizens playing by the rules.
“Rwanda means there won't be allowed to do that.
“My assumption, listening to the Prime Minister, is that he wants [deportations to Rwanda] to happen and he's going to do everything that he can possibly do to make it happen.
“I'm sure there will be other legal challenges, but I think that's the government's desire and the government will try and make it happen, will try its damnedest, in its words, to get flights off the ground to Rwanda.
“It won't work of course, and it won't stop people coming and is, in effect, pushing refugees away from this country who have contributed to this country for many decades.
“I think that the policy is actually unworkable, I think officials in the Home Office know that I think it won't act as a deterrent.
“I think it will fail.
“And I think this government if it's serious about stopping the boats, and look, I don't want people to be taking dangerous journeys. I don't want people to be dying in the channel, but to do that we need a different approach.”
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