The UK has won a legal battle with Rwanda over the collapsed migrant deportation agreement, after an international arbitration tribunal ruled that Britain does not have to pay additional compensation following the scheme’s cancellation.
Rwanda had sought more than £100 million from the UK, arguing that it suffered significant financial losses after the Labour government scrapped the controversial asylum partnership shortly after Prime Minister Keir Starmer took office in 2024.
The agreement, negotiated by the previous Conservative government, was designed to send asylum seekers who arrived irregularly in the UK to Rwanda, where their claims would be processed and, if successful, they would be allowed to settle.
During hearings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, UK lawyers argued that the change of government made it entirely reasonable to abandon the policy and that Britain had no obligation to make further payments under the deal.
The tribunal ultimately sided with the UK, rejecting Rwanda’s claim for compensation.
Rwanda’s government said it respected the ruling and considered the matter closed, although it noted that one arbitrator expressed a differing legal opinion on aspects of the dispute.
The case marks the final chapter in one of the most contentious immigration policies in recent British politics. First announced in 2022 under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and later championed by Rishi Sunak, the Rwanda scheme faced repeated legal challenges and never succeeded in deporting asylum seekers under the policy.
After winning the 2024 election, Labour fulfilled a key manifesto pledge by cancelling the programme, with Starmer declaring it “dead and buried”.
The UK government welcomed the ruling, saying it had successfully defended its position and would instead focus on broader reforms aimed at tackling irregular migration and speeding up removals of people with no legal right to remain in the country.
