Rwanda plan was un-British, says ex-PM John Major

Former Prime Minister Sir John Major has criticised the erstwhile government's Rwanda asylum plan, branding it "un-Conservative and un-British".

The strategy aimed to deter radical crossing the Channel successful tiny boats by sending immoderate migrants who arrived successful the UK illegally to the eastbound African country.

However, the program was stalled by ineligible challenges and scrapped by the caller Labour government, with nary migrants sent to Rwanda nether the scheme.

In an interrogation with the BBC's Amol Rajan, Sir John, who was Tory PM from 1990 to 1997, said helium thought the program was "odious".

"I thought it was un-Conservative, un-British, if 1 situation accidental successful a secular society, un-Christian, and unconscionable and I thought that this is truly not the mode to dainty people," helium said.

Challenged implicit whether the strategy was a indispensable deterrent to halt tiny vessel crossings, Sir John said: "Are they earnestly saying to maine that determination successful the backwoods of immoderate North Africa country, they really cognize what the British Parliament has legislated for? I deliberation not."

He added: "If it really happened it mightiness person been [a deterrent] - but it would inactive person been odious successful my view."

In the wide-ranging interview, Sir John was besides asked astir his views connected the aboriginal of the Conservative Party.

The erstwhile PM said helium had not done galore TV interviews precocious due to the fact that "there’s not been a large woody I could say, I would privation to say, successful favour of what the erstwhile authorities were doing".

He added: "I thought it amended conscionable to enactment disconnected the air. Now, of course, the election's down us, the party’s looking again to the future, and I tin instrumentality to speaking out, hopefully successful favour."

Asked if his enactment deserved to suffer July's wide election, erstwhile the Conservatives suffered their worst decision successful the party's parliamentary history, Sir John said "there’s a clip of erstwhile ideology needs a alteration successful government".

Sir John's authorities was besides unseated by a Labour landslide successful 1997, erstwhile Tony Blair won power.

"I could spot that successful 1997, we had been successful authorities for 18 years and it was perfectly existent to say, that we were bushed and that we were moving retired of caller radical to marque ministers and reinject the authorities with vigour," helium said.

"And of people the aforesaid happening applies [with the caller predetermination results], though it was lone 14 years."

Sir John urged his enactment to entreaty to the centre-right, "where our earthy enactment truly lies", arguing the Tories mislaid acold much seats to Labour and the Liberal Democrats than the right-wing Reform UK party.

"We mislaid 5 [seats] to Reform UK and radical are jumping up and down, and some, alternatively reckless radical are saying, good we indispensable merge with them.

"Well, that volition beryllium fatal."

However, Sir John said helium was "optimistic" astir the party's future, adding: "We person had specified a atrocious defeat, we person got a basal upon which we tin build, successful a wholly caller and, I think, perchance effectual way."

Sir John said helium had not decided who helium was backing to beryllium the adjacent Tory leader, who volition beryllium announced connected 2 November.

But helium added: "I would similar to enactment idiosyncratic who's going to look astatine the semipermanent problems and marque a proposition arsenic to which absorption we should spell and bring radical backmost into the enactment who are genuinely centre-right."