Court rules UK not owe Rwanda over £100 million

An international court has ruled that the United Kingdom is not liable to pay Rwanda more than 100 million pounds following the collapse of a controversial asylum agreement. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected all financial claims brought by the Rwandan government, which had sued the UK for alleged breach of contract.

The dispute centered on a migration policy first announced in 2022 by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and later championed by his successor, Rishi Sunak. The agreement stipulated that the UK would pay Rwanda to receive asylum seekers who had arrived in Britain illegally, often via small boat crossings of the English Channel. The policy was intended as a deterrent to such journeys.

The scheme faced immediate legal challenges and was never fully implemented. The UK Supreme Court later ruled it unlawful. After the Labour Party won the 2024 general election, new Prime Minister Keir Starmer formally scrapped the policy on his first full day in office, declaring it "dead and buried."

Rwanda's Justice Minister and Attorney General, Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, argued before the arbitration panel that his country had incurred significant costs preparing for...