Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp was left squirming in a GB News interview after admitting that not a single migrant was removed to Rwanda during the Conservatives’ time in office.
The confession came under pressure from GB News reporter Steven Edginton, who repeatedly pressed him on the effectiveness of the much-trumpeted deportation scheme.
Speaking in a GB News Original interview, Steven Edginton asked: "How many illegal migrants were deported to Rwanda during the period in which you were in Government?
"This started in 2018. You had six years to do it. So how many migrants?"
Chris Philp admitted that the Conservatives 'could have done more'
|GB NEWS
Chris Philp replied: "Basically zero…"
Steven pushed back: "Not basically zero. It was zero."
Mr Philp then admitted: "Well, the four who went voluntarily, but let's just say zero, because the scheme didn’t start, right? Because of these legal challenges I’ve mentioned, the Strasbourg challenge, the UK Supreme Court challenge.
"And look, we had one judgment in June 2022, we tried again, we got blocked in October 2023, and we passed a law in the first half of 2024.
"We were ready to go by July ’24. Now, should we have done that earlier? Yeah. Frankly, it would’ve been good to have done it earlier.
"But we did all that stuff, and then Keir Starmer cancelled it.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
"And the reason that no one ended up going to Rwanda is because the scheme was cancelled by Keir Starmer and Labour, two weeks before it was due to start. So we’re going to definitely bring that back."
Steven later shifted focus to immigration figures during Conservative governance, questioning why the Government had admitted one million Indian nationals between 2020 and 2024.
Mr Philp responded that decisions rested with the ministers responsible at the time, describing overall numbers as "far, far too high" and citing concerns about social cohesion and economic impact from mass low-skilled migration.
He also challenged Mr Philp's support for Boris Johnson and Priti Patel during this period, noting that Patel now serves as Shadow Foreign Secretary despite having overseen these immigration levels as Home Secretary.
Steven later shifted focus to immigration figures during Conservative governance
|GB NEWS
Mr Philp sought to separate himself from the immigration policies of previous Conservative administrations, emphasising that neither he nor current party leader Kemi Badenoch had served as Prime Minister, Home Secretary or Chancellor during the period of high immigration.
"Kemi and I have both been very clear: what happened in those years was a mistake. It shouldn't have happened," he stated.
The Shadow Home Secretary outlined new proposals including a migration cap to prevent similar situations recurring.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter