On his first full day as prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed that the controversial Rwanda deportation scheme is "dead and buried." The Labour leader expressed his intention to cease the practice of deporting migrants arriving in the UK illegally to Rwanda, which was established by the previous Conservative government.

Labour campaigned on a manifesto pledge to scrap the scheme, which has already cost around £310m. Sir Keir promised a more effective approach to tackling illegal immigration as a replacement. During his first press conference at Number 10, he emphasized, "The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started." He argued that the scheme has never been a deterrent, as it would only result in the deportation of less than 1% of small boat arrivals.

The financial implications of scrapping the scheme and the total bill to the taxpayer are yet to be determined. However, ending the scheme raises concerns regarding the fate of the 52,000 migrants earmarked for deportation. The former prime minister regarded delivering this policy as a top priority, asserting that it acted as a deterrent for people attempting to cross the English Channel in small boats.

Despite being announced two years ago by then-prime minister Boris Johnson, the Rwanda plan faced numerous legal challenges and never saw a flight take off. The number of individuals arriving in the UK via small boat crossings in the Channel has risen dramatically. As of 26 June, 13,195 people have made such crossings in 2024, surpassing the numbers for the same period in the previous four years. Since 2018, nearly 120,000 individuals have arrived in the UK through this route.

The new UK government has identified illegal migration as one of its key priorities. The Labour manifesto pledged to curb small boat crossings by hiring investigators and utilizing counter-terror powers to dismantle criminal people smuggling networks. However, the full details of their proposed scheme are yet to be revealed.

Earlier this year, Rwandan President Paul Kagame suggested that British taxpayers might be refunded if the deal collapsed. The new prime minister plans to embark on a tour of the UK nations, beginning with Scotland, where he will meet First Minister John Swinney.

In light of the current circumstances, addressing the crisis in the health service and reducing reoffending rates to decrease incarceration numbers are also major concerns for the Labour leader. As part of his tour, the new prime minister will visit Scotland on Sunday, reinforcing his commitment to all UK nations.