Gazeta Lodz - UK minister faces hostile return after Rwanda asylum trip

NYSE - LSE

CMSD	0%	21.18	$
JRI	-0.4%	12.35	$
RELX	0.66%	36.54	$
AZN	-1.12%	162.7	$
BCC	-0.03%	78.75	$
RBGPF	0.11%	70.77	$
VOD	1%	16.04	$
CMSC	-0.09%	21.29	$
RYCEF	-1.22%	20.5	$
RIO	-1.43%	103.3	$
BCE	0.26%	23.46	$
BTI	-0.27%	56.13	$
GSK	1.08%	50.82	$
BP	-0.45%	42.15	$
NGG	-0.1%	79.35	$

UK minister faces hostile return after Rwanda asylum trip

ECONOMY 20.03.2023

UK minister faces hostile return after Rwanda asylum trip / Photo: © AFP

One of Britain's most senior ministers came under fire Monday for laughing uproariously in front of a future migrant camp and asking for tips on interior design during a trip to Rwanda.

Text size:

Home Secretary Suella Braverman was also criticised for taking only right-leaning media outlets on the weekend trip, refusing access to the BBC's London reporters and more liberal newspapers that have attacked her plan to resettle asylum seekers in Rwanda.

Britain's Conservative government is seeking to outlaw asylum claims by all illegal arrivals and transfer them to "safe" third countries, such as Rwanda, in a bid to stop thousands of migrants from crossing the Channel on small boats.

Rejecting criticism of Rwanda's human rights record, Braverman said it would be a "blessing" for would-be refugees to be permanently resettled there instead of in Britain.

"I encourage all of my critics to actually visit Rwanda before they cast aspersions and throw around incredibly prejudiced and snobbish opinions about what this beautiful country has to offer," she said, according to British media.

In an interview with right-wing broadcaster GB News, she said accommodation and construction projects in Rwanda were "well advanced" and nearing completion.

Those deported from the UK will be able to have a "safe and secure life", she added, calling it a "humane" and "compassionate" approach.

But the optics of the visit dominated discussion on social media as Braverman returned home.

One photograph showed her laughing at the site of a housing estate under construction for asylum seekers in Kigali, triggering a meme of the same image photoshopped into others of Nazi death camps from World War II.

The original photo of Braverman was cropped, while a wider shot showed her laughing along with two Rwandan people.

"These houses are really beautiful, great quality, really welcoming, and I really like your interior designer. I need some advice for myself," she said on a tour of the estate.

Britain's Labour opposition party accused Braverman of indulging in "PR opportunities and photo ops", saying it would use the £140 million ($170 million) given to Rwanda for hunting down criminal gangs that have profited from the Channel crossings.

The government's resettlement plan is still mired in legal appeals in London and to date, no deportation flights to Rwanda have taken place.

P.Majewski--GL

Featured

Data center backlash scrambles US midterm politics

The data centers powering America's artificial intelligence boom have become an unlikely target in November's midterm elections, as anger over rising electricity bills and noise turns Democrats -- and a growing number of Republicans -- against Big Tech.

US deports right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos

Right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported to his home country of Britain, the US government said Saturday.

Apple Raises TV Streaming Price to $14.99 a Month

Apple increased the monthly and annual price of its TV streaming service and lifted the cost of the individual Apple One bundle.

Pennsylvania Coal-Waste Power Subsidies Rise as Solar Remains a Smaller Source

Pennsylvania continues to direct substantial public support to power plants that burn waste coal, a practice credited with removing polluting mine piles but criticized for high subsidies, greenhouse-gas emissions and a state energy mix in which waste coal still generates more electricity than solar.