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The UK has slapped down Ireland’s plan to return migrants who have crossed the border to avoid being sent to Rwanda, saying Britain is not “going to start accepting returns”.
The issue was discussed by the UK and Irish governments at high-level talks in London on Monday after the Irish government proposed new legislation to make it easier to send migrants to the UK, effectively reversing an Irish High Court ruling that the UK was no longer a “safe third country” for returning asylum seekers because of the Rwanda plan.
Sunak told ITV News there was no desire in Westminster to accept asylum seekers back from Ireland.
“We’re not interested in that. We’re not going to accept returns from the EU via Ireland when the EU doesn’t accept returns back to France where illegal migrants are coming from.
“Of course we’re not going to do that.”
Asked whether there were any negotiations with the EU on returns, he said: “No, I’m focused on getting our Rwanda scheme up and running.”
At a joint press conference in Westminster, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin sought to play down any rift over the issue.
On the Rwanda scheme, Heaton-Harris said “The UK’s new deterrent is clearly working and having some impact already.
“An impact that will obviously increase as the first flights take off for Rwanda.”
He added: “We will obviously monitor all this very closely and continue to work with the Irish Government on these matters.”
Heaton-Harris said there was “no way that we would want to upset our relationship with Ireland”.
There was a “joint commitment to protect the common travel area from abuse”, he added.
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