In April, the UK paid Rwanda 100 million pounds ($126 million) in addition to the 140 million pounds ($151 million) it had sent earlier, according to a letter released by the British Home Office.
The letter addressed the controversial agreement between the countries to deport asylum seekers and migrants from the UK to the East African country.
Authorities also revealed that London intends to pay Kigali an additional $50 million in the next year, adding that "the Government of Rwanda did not ask for any payment in order for a treaty to be signed, nor was any offered."
The migration deal between London and Kigali was finalized in April last year as illegal migration became a pressing issue for the UK. In August 2022, more than 13,500 people crossed the Channel to enter the UK illegally, the highest monthly figure since the migration crisis began in 2019.
In March 2023, the UK government introduced a bill to relocate migrants who entered the UK illegally by boat across the English Channel to a "safe third country" such as Rwanda. However, in late June 2023, the UK Court of Appeal ruled that London's plan to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda was unlawful, leading to an appeal by the UK Home Office to reconsider the decision.
On November 15, 2023, the UK Supreme Court ruled the plan illegal, but that did not stop the government from signing a new migration deal with Rwanda this week.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Rwanda-focused anti-migration plan, entitled "Stop the Boats," has drawn criticism from both international human rights organizations and at home.
Commenting on the published letter on payments to Rwanda, the opposition Labor Party pointed out the high cost of the plan to the government.
"Britain can’t afford more of this costly Tory chaos & farce," Yvette Cooper, Labor's home affairs spokeswoman, wrote on X (former Twitter).
A day earlier, British Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick resigned over "strong differences" over the government's migration plan.