GOVERNMENT officials repeatedly advised Priti Patel against striking an asylum deal with Rwanda due to “significant” human rights concerns, the High Court heard today. 

New court documents, sent to lawyers acting for asylum-seekers who have launched a legal action against the policy, reveal that Britain’s high commissioner to Rwanda had urged the Home Secretary not to pursue Rwanda as an option back in February 2021.  

Listing a number of concerns, the commissioner highlighted shocking accusations that Rwanda has been “recruiting refugees to conduct armed operations in neighbouring countries,” and that asylum-seekers would be at a “risk of refoulement.”