Home Secretary Battles Back After Religious Leaders Slam Rwanda Plan
Home Secretary Priti Patel has doubled down on her controversial immigration policy, branding her Rwanda asylum plan as “bold and innovative” in a joint article with Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta in The Times. This comes after top church figures blasted the move as “ungodly” and “depressing.”
Archbishops Fire Back: ‘Ungodly’ and ‘So Distressing’
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, condemned the policy, declaring it raises “serious ethical questions about sending asylum seekers overseas.” He slammed the plan in stark terms:
“The principle must stand the judgment of God, and it cannot. It cannot carry the weight of resurrection justice, of life conquering death. It privileges the rich and strong.”
Meanwhile, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, used his Easter sermon to denounce the plan as “so depressing and distressing.” He added:
“We can do better than this. There is no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker in law. We should crack down on those who exploit them, not build barriers that push them into the shadows.”
Government Fires Back: ‘Misunderstanding the Policy’
Jacob Rees-Mogg stepped in to defend the plan, telling Radio 4’s The World This Weekend that Archbishop Welby had misunderstood the aims. He said:
“It isn’t abandonment of responsibility but taking on a very difficult one. People risk their lives at the hands of traffickers to enter illegally. The problem is the encouragement of people traffickers, not the illegal entry itself.”
Rees-Mogg highlighted that 90% of arrivals are young men “jumping the queue,” supporting organised crime by paying traffickers. He stressed the need to focus on legal routes into the UK instead.
Political Fallout: Tory MPs Clash Over Clergy’s Role
Some Conservative MPs lashed out on Twitter, telling religious leaders to keep out of politics, claiming the archbishops had overstepped. However, Tory MP Andrew Mitchell from Sutton Coldfield, while sympathetic to the Government’s challenges, warned the policy is unlikely to succeed.
