UK will not pay Rwanda more for scrapped migrant deal

The UK authorities has said it volition not nonstop further payments to Rwanda pursuing the cancellation of the migrant woody betwixt the 2 countries.

On Monday, Rwanda's authorities spokesperson Yolande Makolo said the UK had asked Rwanda to "quietly forgo" the remaining payment - reportedly amounting to £50m ($64m) - based connected "trust and bully faith".

However, Rwanda has present asked the UK to wage the remainder of the wealth it says it is owed, accusing the UK of breaching spot by suspending immoderate aid to the country.

In a statment, a UK authorities spokesperson said that "no further payments successful narration to this argumentation volition beryllium made and Rwanda has waived immoderate further payments".

Last month, the UK announced it would halt bilateral assistance to Rwanda, "excluding enactment to the poorest and astir vulnerable".

The UK took the determination to chopped assistance aft accusing the state of supporting M23, a rebel radical that has captured swathes of eastbound Democratic Republic of Congo successful a deadly uprising.

The assistance cuts person amounted to "unjustified punitive measures to coerce Rwanda into compromising our nationalist security", Makolo said connected Monday.

Rwanda has often denied backing the M23 rebel group, but has precocious been much defensive, saying it has had to instrumentality measures to woody with the "existential threat" posed by genocidal militia adjacent its borders.

UN experts person antecedently estimated that betwixt 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan troops are successful eastbound DR Congo.

Makolo said Rwanda would present beryllium "following up" connected outsanding payments relating to the migrant woody to which the UK was "legally bound".

The program to deport immoderate asylum seekers to Rwanda, devised by the erstwhile Conservative authorities successful 2022, outgo the UK £240m ($310m) earlier being scrapped by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Speaking successful July past year, soon aft being elected, Starmer said the program was "dead and buried", arguing that the strategy had "never been a deterrent" and would lone deport "less than 1%" of tiny vessel arrivals.

In a statement, a UK authorities spokesperson said: "The Home Secretary has been wide that the costly Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda wasted tax-payer wealth and should not continue."