New UK PM Starmer confirms end of Rwanda asylum deportation scheme

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday confirmed his newly formed government would not pursue his predecessor's policy to deport asylum seekers who arrive in small boats to Rwanda, ending the scheme before any flights took off.

"The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started. It's never been a deterrent (to small boat crossings)," Starmer said at a press conference.

"I'm not prepared to continue with gimmicks that don't act as a deterrent."