Lawsuit: UK officials had concerns with Rwanda deportations

By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A lawsuit against the British government says officials at the U.K.’s Foreign Office had misgivings about plans to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda because of the East African nation’s human rights record. Lawyer Raza Husain said in written submissions filed Tuesday that Foreign Office officials told then Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in March that if Rwanda were selected for the immigration policy the government needed to be ready “to absorb resulting criticism from U.K. Parliament and NGOs.” Husain is representing a group of asylum-seekers, charities and public employee unions that brought legal action against Britain’s government over the deportation agreement ultimately reached with Rwanda in April.