UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Saturday that his government will end the controversial Rwanda scheme introduced by the Sunak government, saying in a press conference that the scheme was “never a deterrent” and was ineffective as a migration policy.

The scheme, introduced by the Conservative government to deter migrant boats arriving in the UK, provided for the removal of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers to Rwanda, a “safe third country” in east Africa while their claims were processed. It faced significant controversy and was ruled unlawful by the UK Supreme Court in 2023 as it violated obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. However, the High Court recently ruled the scheme lawful prior to the general election.

Mr. Justice Chamberlain, in the matter brought by the FDA trade union against the Cabinet Office, dismissed the challenge and ruled that civil servants can refuse to follow instructions contrary to domestic law, but there is no such obligation to refuse to follow instructions which have been deemed unlawful under international law. He says that “any such rule would make it practically impossible for a minister to act contrary to international law.” Parliament declared Rwanda a safe country in April 2024.

This court victory for Sunak now seems irrelevant, as Starmer has pledged to scrap the scheme completely. In his first news conference, he said:

Look, the Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started. It has never been a deterrent. Look at the numbers that have come over in the first six months of this year, they are record numbers […] I am not prepared to continue with gimmicks that don’t act as a deterrent.

The Labour party, prior to elections, made a pledge to scrap the scheme in its manifesto, and has promised to enact a more effective approach to illegal immigration. The scheme has cost the government around £310 million.

Human rights groups embraced Starmer’s decision. Agnes Callamard of Amnesty International said on X (formerly Twitter):

The new Government should be vocal in its defence of human rights and unwavering in its adherence to the rule of law – at home and abroad. Its priorities over the next few months should include: suspension of UK arms transfers to Israel […] making homelessness history […] restoring legal compliance and human dignity to asylum policy […] repeal the Troubles Act and allow families truth and justice […]

Conservative MP Suella Braverman has criticized Starmer’s plans on tackling immigration, saying:

Labour will not stop the boats. It’ll make the UK the number one destination for illegal immigrants […] Having served as attorney general and home secretary, I’ve seen up close how complex this is […] This experience has brought me to the view that the only way to stop the boats is the leave the European Convention on Human Rights. That is how we lawfully restrict the rights of illegal migrants to claim asylum and relocate them to Rwanda where they can be resettled in a safe and humane way.

The Labour government won the general election on July 4 by a landslide majority.