The Rwandan government has launched an international arbitration case against the United Kingdom, claiming it is owed £100m in payments under an asylum agreement that was cancelled by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Rwanda argues that the UK breached the terms of the agreement—formally known as the Migration and Economic Development Partnership—by failing to make agreed payments after the policy was scrapped. The deal, signed in 2022 under the previous Conservative government, was designed to allow the UK to send some asylum seekers who arrived illegally in Britain to Rwanda for processing and resettlement.
In a statement, the Rwandan government said it had decided to pursue arbitration after what it described as the UK’s “intransigence” on key aspects of the agreement.
A Home Office spokesperson rejected the claim, saying: “The previous government’s Rwanda policy wasted vast sums of taxpayer time and money. We will robustly defend our position to protect British taxpayers.”
According to Rwanda, its arbitration claim is based on three alleged breaches of the agreement: the UK’s public disclosure of the deal’s financial terms, the failure to make payments totalling £100m, and the refusal to resettle vulnerable refugees from Rwanda in the UK.
Under the partnership, the UK had committed to resettling a small number of vulnerable refugees who were already in Rwanda and had not been transferred from Britain. In 2022, the Home Office said this was expected to involve “tens” of individuals with complex needs, including serious health conditions.
The asylum policy, aimed at deterring migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats, cost the UK government approximately £700m. Of that amount, £290m was paid directly to Rwanda. Only four volunteers were transferred to Rwanda while the agreement was active.
Following Labour’s victory in the 2024 general election, Sir Keir Starmer declared the policy “dead and buried.”
The agreement included a break clause allowing either party to terminate the deal with written notice. In December 2024, the Home Office said an additional £100m would have been payable under the treaty—£50m in each of the 2025–26 and 2026–27 financial years. The UK had also agreed to pay £120m upon the transfer of 300 people to Rwanda.
