Tories 'relied on Rwandan officials' in asylum plan safety review

The last Conservative government relied largely on evidence from Rwandan officials in its assessment of the country as a safe place to send asylum seekers, a report has found.

- Diane Taylor

The independent chief inspector of borders and immigration looked at the Home Office's assessment of whether or not Rwanda was a safe place to send refused asylum seekers, a document known as "country of origin information".

The report found that Rwanda was a safe country despite evidence to the contrary being put forward by lawyers and human rights monitors, particularly the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

Charities previously accused the last government of "gaslighting" on Rwanda's poor human rights record.

The inspector found the government's reports did not meet "minimum standards" of research and only included very limited critical information about the Rwandan asylum system, leaving fundamental gaps and unanswered questions.