If Liz Truss is elected prime minister, it has been suggested that she may extend the contentious Rwandan migrant expulsion scheme to nations like Turkey.
If she wins the leadership, the foreign secretary has secretly informed MPs that she will start talks with more nations to persuade them to accept refugees coming to Britain.
Despite Turkey already having the largest refugee population in the world, sources close to Ms. Truss poured cold water on Sir Christopher Chope’s claims that this would include Spain.
Despite the allegations, Turkey has consistently asserted that it lacks the ability to manage any new influx of refugees after bearing the brunt of the Syrian refugee wave in 2015.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged other EU countries to “bear the burden of the Afghan migration” in a speech last year.
The contentious plan has not yet sent anyone to Kigali, and even if it is upheld in court, it is unlikely that the first flight will leave the ground before a new prime minister is announced in September.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) intervened at the last minute to block the Home Secretary’s first removal flight to East Africa from taking off on Tuesday, despite the UK Supreme Court’s approval.
All of the candidates running to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister have declared they will maintain the divisive practice of sending migrants to Rwanda for processing.
As of Tuesday, there had been 13,000 channel crossings for the year.
Court challenges have prevented Britain from starting the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing, which is meant to be a deterrent.
Government statistics show that 28,526 people travelled in 2021, compared to 8,410 who arrived in 2020.
According to France, its security forces have stopped 61% of attempted border crossings this year, an increase of 4.2% from the same period last year.
At the time, a government spokesperson declared: “The rise in risky Channel crossings is unacceptable.
They not only openly violate our immigration laws, but they also endanger lives and make it harder for us to assist refugees who enter the UK legally and safely.
With a maximum sentence of life in prison, the Nationality and Borders Act will allow us to crack down on system abuse and the nefarious people smugglers.
‘Under our new Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda, we are continuing our preparations to relocate those who are making dangerous, unnecessary, and illegal journeys into the UK in order for their claims to be considered and so that they can rebuild their lives,’ the statement reads.
Ms. Truss received the backing of 64 MPs on the previous round and is still in the running to become the next Tory leader.
She still needs to put in some work to catch up to former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who received 101 votes to finish first, and Penny Mordaunt, who received 83 votes, upping her previous total by 16.
According to surveys, the foreign secretary would likely prevail in a runoff with Mr. Sunak and become prime minister if she manages to edge out Ms. Mordaunt for second place.