Fadi Farhat explained that the dispute with Rwanda hinges on whether proper diplomatic procedures were followed when Labour abandoned the asylum scheme | GB NEWS

“That argument could be considered by the arbitration court, which does subscribe to international law.”The court could conclude that Rwanda has already received £290million and is not entitled to the additional £50million.

"That said, none of this would be necessary had the Government simply sent a formal termination notice.

Instead, taxpayers now face millions of pounds in legal costs, all because the Foreign Office failed to carry out what should have been a basic diplomatic step.

“For a policy of this scale, particularly following a change of Government, you would expect every detail to have been checked. Clearly, that did not happen.”

Rwanda has now launched legal proceedings against Britain, seeking £50 million following the Government’s decision to abandon the deportation agreement.

The claim has been filed with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, with proceedings initiated in November through a formal notice of arbitration.

Court documents identify Dr Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, Rwanda’s minister of justice and attorney general, as representing the claimants.

The African nation has engaged Lord Verdirame KC, a crossbench peer from Twenty Essex chambers, to handle its case.

On the British side, Dan Hobbs, the Home Office’s director for migration and borders, is named as a representative, with the department instructing Ben Juratowitch of Essex Court Chambers.

Rwanda’s position is that it had agreed to waive the payment when Labour announced the scheme’s cancellation, but claims the UK never formally terminated the treaty, leaving the debt outstanding.

The abandoned scheme has already cost British taxpayers approximately £700million, according to Home Office figures.

This sum comprises £290million transferred directly to the Rwandan government, alongside expenses for charter flights that never departed, the detention and subsequent release of hundreds of individuals, and salaries for over 1,000 civil servants assigned to the project.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp branded the legal action “yet another catastrophic consequence of Labour’s decision to scrap the Rwanda scheme.”