On Thursday, Rycroft said in a letter to British lawmakers that Rwanda had received an additional 100 million pounds, on top of the previously sent 140 million pounds, as part of the deportation scheme and that 50 million pounds more would be handed over to the country next year. At the same time, he did not disclose how exactly the money was linked to an updated scheme to send undocumented migrants to the African nation, which caused discontent in the UK parliament.
On Friday, UK Home Affairs Committee chairwoman Diana Johnson and Public Accounts Committee chairwoman Meg Hillier sent a joint letter to Rycroft, demanding that he present a "full and frank" explanation regarding the Rwanda scheme costs at a public hearing, Sky News reported.
The UK government has treated immigration as one of its priorities since leaving the European Union in 2020. In April 2022, London and Kigali signed an agreement under which some of the undocumented migrants who arrived in the UK by sea were supposed to be sent to Rwanda for the processing of their cases and potentially resettlement. The first flight under the scheme was canceled due to interference of the European Court of Human Rights in 2022.
In November, the UK Supreme Court declared the government's initial scheme unlawful, saying it could not guarantee the safety of asylum seekers after their deportation to Rwanda. The government responded by signing a new deal with Rwanda which addressed the court's concern about the African country's safety for asylum seekers. At the same time, UK Home Secretary James Cleverly insisted the African nation had not requested and had not been given any additional funds for the deal.