Home Secretary Defends Rwanda Plan Amid Clergy Uproar
Home Secretary Priti Patel has slammed religious leaders who criticised her controversial Rwanda asylum scheme. Writing alongside Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta in The Times, Patel branded the plans “bold and innovative” despite fierce backlash from top church figures.
Archbishops Clash with Government over Asylum Policy
The Archbishop of canterbury/" title="Canterbury" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">Canterbury, Justin Welby, called the scheme “ungodly” and raised “serious ethical questions about sending asylum seekers overseas.” In his Easter sermon, he blasted the policy as “so depressing and distressing,” declaring it favoured the “rich and strong” and failed to reflect true justice.
Joining Welby, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said bluntly: “We can do better than this.” He warned that “there is in law no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker” and urged the government to target those exploiting migrants, not desperate individuals seeking safety.
Jacob Rees-Mogg Hits Back at Church Leaders
Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg defended the plan on Radio 4’s The World This Weekend, accusing the Archbishop of Canterbury of misunderstanding its aims. He said the policy tackles the dangerous business of people traffickers profiting from illegal crossings.
“The problem is people risking their lives with traffickers to enter the UK illegally,” Rees-Mogg stated. “It’s not the illegal bit we want to stop, it’s the encouragement of people traffickers.”
Rees-Mogg added that 90% of arrivals are young men “jumping the queue” and by doing so, support organised crime. He urged a focus on legal routes, which are “quite a number”.
Tory MPs Split on Clergy Criticism
Some Conservative MPs tweeted that religious leaders should avoid political interference, claiming the archbishops had overstepped. However, former minister Andrew Mitchell, MP for Sutton Coldfield, expressed “enormous sympathy” with the government but doubted the scheme’s effectiveness.
With tensions rising, the Rwanda asylum plan remains a hot potato in Westminster and beyond.
