Britain's new Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday he would scrap a controversial plan to fly thousands of asylum seekers from Britain to Rwanda in his first major policy announcement since winning a landslide election victory.
The previous Conservative government first announced the plan in 2022 to send migrants who arrived in Britain without permission to the East African nation, saying it would put an end to asylum seekers arriving on small boats.
But no one was sent to Rwanda under the plan because of years of legal challenges.
At his first press conference since becoming prime minister, Starmer said that the Rwanda policy would be scrapped because only about 1% of asylum seekers would have been removed and it would have failed to act as a deterrent.
'Dead and buried'
"The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started. It's never been a deterrent," Starmer said. "I'm not prepared to continue with gimmicks that don't act as a deterrent."
Starmer won one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern British history on Friday, making him the most powerful British leader since former Prime Minister Tony Blair, but he faces a number of challenges, including improving struggling public services and reviving a weak economy.
African leaders have lined up to congratulate the new British premier.
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu praised Starmer's "determination and courage" throughout his years in the opposition.
Work together
"I look forward to deepening relations between Nigeria and the United Kingdom in mutual areas of interest and in strengthening democratic institutions," he said in a statement.
Kenya's President William Ruto said Starmer's win was "testimony to the deep yearning of the citizens of the United Kingdom for progressive politics and policies".
"I stand ready to work with Prime Minister Starmer to foster our bilateral commercial, defence and political cooperation while contributing together towards building a safer, equitable and sustainable global future," he said in a post on X.
In a statement, South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa said he looks forward to working with Prime Minister Starmer to enhance relations between the two countries.
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