Sunak forced to defend Rwanda plan after leak suggested he harboured significant doubts

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Rishi Sunak has been forced to defend his flagship Rwanda plan after leaked paperwork suggested he harboured significant doubts in regards to the controversial scheme – and argued for it to be scaled again.

The prime minister mentioned it had been his job when chancellor to scrutinise “every proposal” that concerned spending taxpayers’ cash.

But he insisted that it could be was “wrong” to infer from that that he didn’t again the coverage to deport asylum seekers.

But the prime minister repeatedly mentioned he had not learn the paperwork, leaked to the BBC, which have led to accusations he has been “conning” the general public over the plan.

Mr Sunak was uncertain the plan to deport asylum seekers would obtain its final purpose, to deter channel crossings, a month earlier than it was unveiled by then prime minster Boris Johnson, in accordance to the papers.

He was additionally involved about the price of sending asylum seekers to the African nation and needed to restrict the numbers.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Sunak mentioned: “My job (was) to ask probing questions of every proposal that crossed my desk as chancellor.

“Whether you might have doubts about it or not, you should not come to it with a preconceived notion that the whole lot is okay if you find yourself spending taxpayer’s cash, in fact you should not.

“You should always ask probing questions, you should always approach things from a position of scepticism to ensure that you get value for money for taxpayers. That is the job of the chancellor and the Treasury when things crossed their desk.

“But to infer from that that I do not imagine within the scheme or the precept of deterrence is mistaken. I used to be doing my job to get good worth for cash for taxpayers.

“I went through that process, funded the scheme with the prime minister and, as Prime Minister myself, I have made sure that we have a similar deterrent working with Albania, and I have made the point that it is because Albania is working that we should have confidence that the Rwanda scheme will work too.”

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