The Rwanda relocation scheme ends in a mess

8th June 2026 A lucky arbitration win for the UK brings the programme to its conclusion * There was recently an international arbitration award: a lucky arbitration award. The lucky winner was the United Kingdom, the unlucky loser was Rwanda. The dispute was about that relocation scheme for asylum seekers which the then-government of the United Kingdom sought to put in place before it was defeated at the last general election. Over at Prospect (click here) I have done a piece on that scheme and how this arbitration ward finally brings the scheme to an end. That piece emphasises the costs: in essence, it cost about £250,000,000 to send just four asylum seekers to Rwanda, and they went voluntarily. The overall amount would have been even more, had it not been for the lucky arbitration victory in respect of unpaid fees under the agreement. The point that can be added in this post is that the very fact this even went to arbitration is a bad sign. The negotiations which brought the scheme…