The Rwanda plan: How to waste £700m

·32 min·3 clips

A leaked Home Office script reveals the chilling phone call offered to asylum seekers identified for removal to Rwanda.

This episode of The Slow Newscast is a forensic investigation into the UK government's failed Rwanda asylum policy. Host Claudia introduces reporters Kat Neelan and Ada Barume, who examine how £715 million was spent over three years. The narrative begins with a leaked Home Office script used to phone asylum seekers, offering them voluntary relocation to Rwanda or forced removal. The policy, announced in 2022, aimed to send people who arrived illegally in the UK to Rwanda for processing. Despite this, no one was ever forcibly sent. The episode outlines the political timeline, involving four prime ministers (Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak) and four home secretaries (Priti Patel, Suella Braverman, Grant Shapps, James Cleverley). A key moment was on June 14, 2022, when a plane with seven people was prepared for takeoff at Boscombe Down Airfield, but a last-minute ruling from the European Court of Human Rights grounded it. Financially, the investigation reveals a £290 million upfront payment to Rwanda, described by a Home Office official as 'insane' because Rwanda kept the money regardless of whether anyone was sent. Additional costs included £50 million for flights and security, £280 million for staffing and IT systems, and legal fees. At its peak, 1,000 Home Office staff worked on the policy, causing morale issues and ethical objections, with some staff protesting using Paddington Bear posters. The episode features insights from sources, including former government officials and civil servants, who criticize the policy's value for money. It also covers parliamentary scrutiny, with Labour MP Meg Hillier questioning the secrecy around costs. The policy was ultimately abandoned after Rishi Sunak called an election in 2024, with only four people volunteering to go to Rwanda. The episode concludes by noting that Labour plans to repeal the policy, while skepticism remains about alternative solutions to irregular migration.

As heard by us

The Rwanda policy is weighed through contracts, travel, security costs, and the absence of asylum flights.

The Slow Newscast tracks the Rwanda policy through the machinery that kept it moving: 715 million spent over three years by four prime ministers on a plan that never sent asylum seekers to Rwanda. Its force is in the ledger.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play when 340 million has been spent and the planes still carry nobody.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Slow Newscast