UK activists heckle Priti Patel over 'cruel' Rwanda asylum deal at Conservative Party soiree

A speech by the UK Home Secretary Priti Patel was disrupted by social justice campaigners who demanded the government drop their controversial plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

World

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

09 May, 2022

Patel has defended the Rwanda deal, saying it 'fully complies with international and national law' [source: Getty]

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel was heckled by activists on Friday who lambasted the government’s plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Eight young social justice campaigners disrupted Patel's speech at a Conservative Party "spring dinner" by standing on their chairs and calling on the Home Secretary to drop her "inhumane" migration policy.

The protesters from Green New Deal Rising, a movement which demands a green revolution underpinned by global justice, were each bundled out of the meeting by security guards.

Last night we disrupted @pritipatel because her #Rwandaplan is cruel, morally bankrupt & it will cost lives.

We demand the Government drops this widely condemned policy & provides support for people seeking safety.

No matter where we come from, we all deserve dignity & respect pic.twitter.com/DQDzC2aMCB
— Green New Deal Rising (@GNDRising) May 7, 2022

"Priti Patel, your racist policies are killing people," one activist can be heard saying in a video posted on the activist group's Twitter page.

The campaigner was immediately booed by other attendees at the dinner, who then started chanting: "Out, Out, Out."

Activists then took turns to stand up and slam Patel for her "racist" policies, as security removed them from the room.

"As a young person who wants to live in a fair and compassionate society, we are disgusted by your treatment of refugees in the UK," one said before being taken away by security.

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The UK government announced plans to give asylum seekers a one-way ticket to Rwanda last month as part of a memorandum of understanding between the two nations.

Patel, who has spearheaded punitive migration policies against people who arrive via "irregular routes", defended the policy as being "very unique" and "not like a trade deal".

UK refugee charities decried the Rwanda deal as "cruel", arguing it will do little to deter vulnerable people from undertaking perilous journeys to seek sanctuary in the UK.