UK's Rwanda migrants plan: Home Secretary Suella Braverman's laughter at 'internment' camp just highlights how immoral this Tory policy really is – Angus Robertson

On a balcony overlooking the rudimentary buildings at a Rwandan internment camp, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman is pictured throwing back her head in raucous laughter.

Having had a tour round the facilities where she has proposed to hold migrants – whether that be those seeking asylum for human rights reasons, to escape modern slavery or otherwise – while their papers and cases are processed, she looked around the facilities and joked: “I really like your interior designer. I need some advice for myself.”

I’m not sure why her trip to the Central African country prompted such levity by the Home Secretary. Claiming asylum in a foreign country is not something done on a whim. Most often, the people seeking refuge in the UK are escaping persecution, human rights abuses or war-torn countries. Even dealing with criminal illegal immigration is not a laughing matter. The UK Government has failed to tackle this and should be taking serious and constructive steps to deal with this issue.

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Whatever the reason for a person seeking refuge in the UK, this is a shockingly immoral policy. It is also arguably illegal – a Court of Appeal judge ruled that a group of asylum seekers can challenge Braverman’s policy due to the dangers and risks of deporting them to Rwanda.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman laughs as she tours a building site on the outskirts of Kigali, Rwanda, where deported migrants are planned to be housed (Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA)Home Secretary Suella Braverman laughs as she tours a building site on the outskirts of Kigali, Rwanda, where deported migrants are planned to be housed (Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Home Secretary Suella Braverman laughs as she tours a building site on the outskirts of Kigali, Rwanda, where deported migrants are planned to be housed (Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA)

This approach to immigration by the Tories is no surprise. When I was leader of the SNP at Westminster, I faced off weekly with Theresa May, the architect of the original ‘hostile environment’ immigration policy. Her legacy set the tone for successive Conservative governments and is the very worst of the UK’s approach to human rights.

Angus Robertson is the SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central and Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary

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