​Tories would ‘resurrect’ Rwanda-style scheme – regardless of already losing £700million

The Tories will aim to “resurrect” a Rwanda-style deportation scheme – despite already wasting £700million of taxpayers’ cash on the failed project.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp defended the controversial scheme – scrapped by Keir Starmer in July – to send some asylum seekers to the east African nation.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Philp said if the Tories win the next election “we would aim to resurrect a deterrent style-scheme”.

He added: “Whether the Rwanda scheme is still available in five years’ time we’ll have to see. But certainly a deterrent scheme like that where if somebody crosses the Channel, dangerously, illegally, and unnecessarily, unnecessarily because France is safe, they will be rapidly removed somewhere else.”

But the Home Secretary Yvettee Cooper described the scheme as a “gimmick”. She said on Sunday: “It ran for two-and-a-half-years, £700million, and four volunteers [sent to Rwanda]. That is just a total failing scheme.”

It came as Ms Cooper said the number of small boats making the treacherous Channel crossing are “far too high” – but refused to set out a timetable to reduce them. Some 21,306 people have made the dangerous journey since July’s election, with 609 arrivals on Thursday – the busiest December day on record.

Speaking to the B BC during a visit to Rome, Ms Cooper said: “These levels are far too high, this is dangerous what’s happening.

“Of course we want to continue to progress, of course we want to see the boat crossings come down as rapidly as possible. What we are not going to do is deal with this by slogans. Rishi Sunak said he’d stop the boats in a year.”

Speaking to Sky News Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle also refused to give a deadline for cutting the crossings. She said: “I’m not going to sit here and give you a date. We’ve had governments that have given dates and figures about getting immigration down to the tens of thousands and then quadrupled it.”

Labour peer Baroness Harriet Harman also suggested the government should launch a royal commission on migration because a “wider conversation” is needed about what people want.

The former Labour minister said “I think they’re being very diligent, the Government. They’ve identified that they’ve got to make this a priority and they’re getting on with it. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, and Angela (Eagle) are working both nationally and internationally.

“But I think that we need a bit of a wider conversation with the public on this in terms of what people actually want and what is achievable, because people are often in two places at once on this…

“I think in a way, it might be a good moment to have something like – terrible suggestion, I know – but something like a royal commission where we literally look at what it is people want, because simply saying we want a very well-run service with all the vacancies filled but we want no more immigration, those two things you can’t have both at once.”