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Leaked footage shows Rwandan ambassador slamming UK asylum policy

The government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda has been criticised by the country’s ambassador to the UK in an embarrassing turn of events for Suella Braverman.

An undercover investigation orchestrated by campaign group Led By Donkeys shows Johnston Busingye, high commissioner of Rwanda, pointing out what most of us know but the government refuses to acknowledge; that their plan is “absolutely wrong”.

Journalist Antony Barnett led the sting operation, meeting Busingye in a London club under the guise of a businessman from a south-east Asian company wanting to invest in his country.

During the meeting, he was asked what he would say to the prime minister or home secretary about the UK’s immigration policy. He responded by saying he would tell them it was “absolutely wrong”.

“They should have a long-term idea,” he said. “They should have a long-term policy of making it a choice for people not to risk their lives coming to the UK. Because right now, many people are not coming here because of war in their country. No, they’re coming here because they are hopeless. They’re coming here because they have no future.”

He also said it was “immoral” for the UK to regard itself as a compassionate country.

“[It] is immoral for this country to still see themselves as the refugee country, the solace country, the protection country, the compassion country,” he said. “They enslaved millions of people for 400 years. They destroyed India, they destroyed China, they destroyed Africa.”

Watch the footage in full below:

Related: Patel calls Braverman out over multiculturalism comments

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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