The Rwandan government is claiming it is owed £100m by the UK over payments due under an asylum agreement cancelled by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Rwanda has filed an international arbitration case, arguing the UK has breached the terms of the deal to send some asylum seekers to the east African nation.
Under the deal, which was signed by the previous Conservative government, the UK agreed to make payments to Rwanda to host asylum seekers who had arrived illegally in Britain.
In a statement, Rwanda’s government said it had decided to pursue claims in arbitration after facing the UK’s “intransigence on these issues”.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The previous government’s Rwanda policy wasted vast sums of taxpayer time and money.
“We will robustly defend our position to protect British taxpayers.”
The Rwandan government’s statement said it was making three claims in relation to the Migration and Economic Development Partnership, which was signed in 2022 when Boris Johnson was prime minister.
The statement accuses the UK of breaching the deal by setting out the financial terms of the agreement publicly, failing to make payments totalling £100m, and “refusing to make arrangements to resettle vulnerable refugees from Rwanda”.
As part of the partnership, the UK had agreed to resettle a small number of vulnerable refugees who were already being hosted in Rwanda and had not been sent there from Britain.
In 2022, the Home Office said this was expected to amount to “tens” of cases, involving people who have complex needs, such as acute health problems.
The previous Conservative government spent some £700m on the Rwanda policy, which was intended to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats.
Only four volunteers arrived in Rwanda when the deal was in force and Sir Keir said the plan was “dead and buried”, shortly after Labour won the 2024 general election.
The deal included a break clause, which said “each party may terminate this agreement by giving notice to the other party in writing”.
The £700m included £290m of payments to Rwanda.
In December 2024, the Home Office said a further £100m of payments would have been due under the treaty, £50m in each of the 2025-26 and 2026-27 financial years.
In addition, the Home Office agreed to pay £120m upon the transfer of 300 people to Rwanda.
In its statement, the Rwandan government said in November 2024, the UK requested that Rwanda forgo two payments of £50m that were due in April 2025 and April 2026.
The statement added: “Rwanda indicated it was prepared to accept these arrangements should the treaty be terminated, provided that new financial terms would be negotiated and agreed.
“Discussions between Rwanda and the United Kingdom did not however ultimately take place and the amounts remain due and payable under the treaty.”
Rwanda‘s government said the UK had “made clear that it has no intention of making any further payment” under the treaty, or honouring “its further commitment to make arrangements to resettle in the UK a portion of the most vulnerable refugees hosted in Rwanda”.
“Disappointingly, Rwanda’s attempts to move the UK from its entrenched position have been unsuccessful,” the statement said.
It said the UK notified Rwanda of the termination of the treaty after responding to the east African country’s notice of arbitration in November last year.
Rwanda said the formal termination of the treaty will take effect on 16 March 2026.
The Home Office has been contacted for a further comment.
In the treaty signed by Rwanda and the UK, both countries agreed any dispute that could not be settled among themselves would be referred to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
The PCA, which is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, is a forum for resolving international disputes between states.
It is a process that is similar to arbitration that companies regularly agree to as an alternative to potentially damaging and lengthy court battles.
The PCA has the power to issue binding, final rulings if disputes cannot be settled by the countries involved.
The PCA has not yet indicated how and when the complaint from Rwanda will be handled.
The arbitration body typically sets a timetable with the parties specifying when they need to present their arguments – and the cases can take years to resolve.
Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the legal action was “yet another catastrophic consequence of Labour’s decision to scrap the Rwanda scheme before it even started”.
“This legal action means the British taxpayer is now facing a huge bill for Labour’s weakness and incompetence,” Philp said.
He said Labour was “too weak to see this crucial policy through, and it’s the British taxpayer who is left to pay the price”.
The UK government previously said it was looking at what money could be recouped after scrapping the scheme.
But the Rwandan government has said it is under “no obligation” to refund any money.
