No Migrant Returns Deal With Ireland, Warns PM

Rishi Sunak has poured cold water on a deal with Dublin to return migrants to the UK following concerns from Irish officials that asylum seekers are crossing the Northern Irish border into Ireland.

- ZOE GRUNEWALD

The prime minister said he is “not interested” in pursuing a deal with his Irish counterparts to return asylum seekers from the EU via Ireland to the UK “when the EU doesn’t accept returns back to France where illegal migrants are coming from”.

It comes as Ireland’s deputy premier and foreign affairs minister Micheal Martin co-chaired a meeting of the British Irish InterGovernmental Conference (BIIGC) in London with Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris.

Speaking to ITV News the prime minister said: “Of course we’re not going to do that”, adding: “I’m focused on getting our Rwanda scheme up and running.”

In a joint press conference following the meeting, Mr HeatonHarris suggested the issue of asylum seekers crossing to the Republic of Ireland was an indication the UK’s Rwanda scheme was working as a deterrent.

Mr Heaton-Harris said: “The UK’s new deterrent is clearly working and having some impact already. We will obviously monitor all this very closely and continue to work with the Irish government on these matters.”

The cabinet minister also said while the deterrent effect of the Rwanda scheme was anticipated “we are slightly surprised that it manifested itself so quickly after the Act became law”.