British Home Secretary Suella Baverman left the BBC, The Guardian, The Daily Mirror and other outlets critical of the Government's Immigration Law in the lurch on her first official trip to Rwanda to give new impetus to deportations to the African country .
"Rwanda is willing to admit thousands of people and offer immigrants the opportunity to build new lives in the country," Braverman said upon arrival in Kigali, accompanied by conservative media outlets in favor of his measures, such as The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph or GB News.
The BBC's exclusion from the official tour, days after the scandal over the temporary suspension of Gary Lineker for comparing the government's anti-immigrant policy to Nazi Germany, has sparked a barrage of criticism of Braverman, who personally got involved in the controversy claiming that her husband is Jewish.
The Index on Censorship organization expressed concern about the exclusion of various media outlets on their official trip. "Democracy depends on a transparent relationship between the government and the media," stressed the organization's director, Martin Bright. "Access to ministers, within the country or on their international visits, should not be treated as a reward for favorable coverage."
"We are deeply concerned that they and other news organizations have been excluded from a taxpayer-funded trip to Rwanda," the Guardian said in a statement. "Excluding journalists who scrutinize political decisions not only damages press freedom but also goes against government guidelines on media impartiality."
The veto of the critical media of the ultra-conservative Suella Braverman marred from beginning to end her visit to Rwanda and her meeting with President Paul Kagame to relaunch the so-called Agreement on Economic Development and Immigration of the United Kingdom and Uganda.
The agreement initially includes the payment to Rwanda of 120 million pounds (135 million euros) for sheltering immigrants who arrived illegally in the United Kingdom, crossing the Macha Channel by boat, and pending the asylum application.
The first flight, during Boris Johnson's tenure, was however canceled in June 2022 with eight immigrants on board due to the intervention in extremis of the European Court of Human Rights. Despite successive disputes, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated his intention to go ahead with the plan and start the deportations this year.
Upon her arrival in Rwanda, Suella Braverman was forced to deny the figure of 200 refugees used by Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo a year ago. "Suggesting that Rwanda can take only 200 immigrants is a false narrative used by critics of the plan," Braverman said. "The country has the capacity to house thousands of people by the time the flights start."
Throughout 2022, a total of 45,728 immigrants made the crossing of the English Channel and remain temporarily housed in hotels in the United Kingdom. The new Immigration Act, currently pending, aims to deny the right to asylum to all those who arrive in the UK illegally, with the exception of minors and people at serious risk.
The controversial visit by Suella Braverman, the daughter of Indian immigrants established in Kenya and Mauritius, has the mission of "reinforcing the Government's commitment to our agreement (with Rwanda) as part of the plan to stop the boats and to make it operational in a short time".
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
