Exclusive

Ukrainian refugees will not be deported to Rwanda, Boris Johnson vows

12 May 2022, 08:08 | Updated: 12 May 2022, 10:05

Boris Johnson said Ukrainian refugees would not be sent to Rwanda
Boris Johnson said Ukrainian refugees would not be sent to Rwanda. Picture: LBC/Alamy

By Will Taylor

Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of their homeland will not get shipped off to Rwanda, Boris Johnson has insisted.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

The Prime Minister told LBC's Nick Ferrari that they would not be sent to the East African country despite a new agreement to send asylum seekers there.

The plan has worried migrant rights groups who say they could be put at risk by being sent there.

Other critics said it would not stop the dangerous and sometimes fatal small boat crossings in the Channel, which the agreement is designed to deter.

Speaking en route back from Finland, where he approved a new security detail with Helsinki and Sweden, Mr Johnson said the prospect of Ukrainian refugees being sent to Rwanda is "simply not going to happen".

Read more: Boris Johnson refuses to rule out windfall tax on oil giants amid soaring household bills

Read more: 'How do you economise Prime Minister?' Boris denies he's out of touch with household costs

"There's two totally different things, so what's happening with the Ukrainian schemes, there are two of them.

"They're both uncapped. They're both incredibly generous and they're intended to help people who have relatives in Ukraine that want to bring them over.

NICK FERRARI BORIS JOHNSON AIRPORT INTERVIEW

"So you have a quite a big Ukrainian community in the UK, perhaps 20,000 or 30,000 people, who want to bring relatives, distant relatives they can be, we don't mind, over to the UK. That’s scheme number one.

"Scheme number two is the Homes for Ukrainians scheme. And, you know, that, yes, you've got to be careful. You've got to make sure that you're getting two things right.

"First of all, you've got to make sure that you're getting the right families, the right homes for Ukrainians.

Read more: 'Only 300 migrants will be sent to Rwanda each year' despite 'thousands' pledge

"You've also got to make sure, in quite a difficult time for Ukraine, when we don't know the identities exactly of people leaving the theatre of war, you got to make sure that you're screening people as well.

"In spite of those difficulties, we've got 67,000, I think, the last numbers I saw coming in to stay with people in our country. I'm proud of that. I'm proud of the numbers that we're generating and don't forget this is on top of what the UK has already done with Afghans, with Syrians, with the Hong Kong Chinese.

"There is no country that has opened its hearts more to people fleeing war and persecution around the world since 2015. No one's done more."

Nick Ferrari asks Boris Johnson about the cost of living crisis

The Home Office confirmed the first group of people to be sent to Rwanda are being told they will be deported this week.

The Government expects the controversial deal to be challenged in the courts, having previously hit out at "activist" lawyers.

Mr Johnson will hope his newest agreement with foreign countries proves less contentious. He has approved a security deal with Finland and Sweden, two countries who look set to join Nato after decades of neutrality.

They appear ready to ditch their neutrality after Russia invaded Ukraine, fearful Vladimir Putin could set his sights on them in the future.

Asked by Nick if there can be a way for the international community to bury the hatchet with Russian president Vladimir Putin, whose military has been accused of war crimes in the bloody invasion of Ukraine, Mr Johnson said: "I think that repentance is going to be very difficult for Vladimir Putin now because… nothing is impossible, I suppose, but I just cannot see for the life of me how we can renormalise relations with Putin now.

Read more: First migrants to be told they're bound for Rwanda as Patel says plan sends 'clear signal'

"He has grossly violated human rights, international law. He's guilty of absolutely barbaric onslaught on a totally innocent country.

"And to renormalise would be to make the mistake that we made in 2014. Remember what happened after Donbas and after the invasion of Luhansk and Donetsk and of Crimea. The world basically said, this is appalling.

"We condemn it, we denounce it – and we did. And we put on sanctions.

"But at the same time, we kind of opened negotiations with him about a way forward and you remember the whole business of the Normandy process, the Minsk agreements. And Putin basically used that as a way of twisting the knife in Ukraine and he never really allowed stability to return to the east of Ukraine.

"And if the Ukrainians were to do any kind of deal with Putin now, the risk is that he would do exactly the same thing and they know it. So the short answer is no. No renormalisation and the UK is very clear about that."

Listen on Global Player to hear Mr Johnson's remarks about whether he is out of touch in the cost of living crisis and on Partygate.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Research revealed by LBC - from the Federation of Master Builders - reveals that 37% of adults have hired an unreliable or unqualified builder.

Brits left devastated by 'cowboy builders', as LBC reveals they've cost Brits £14.3bn in last 5 years

Some 1,286 individual AI-generated child sexual abuse videos were discovered in the first half of this year, according to new IWF data published on Friday.

AI-generated child sex abuse videos ‘now as lifelike as real footage’, charity warns

Sergeant Gregory Gillespie, Constable Luke Holden and police community support officer (PCSO) Timothy Parry were the first officers to arrive on the scene at the Taylor Swift-themed workshop on July 29 last year.

Officers who confronted Southport killer Axel Rudakubana recognised with bravery awards

An F-35 Lightning stealth jet performing a flypast during the commissioning ceremony for 809 Naval Air Squadron at RAF Marham in King's Lynn in Norfolk

Britain's most advanced warplane plagued by delays and shortfalls 'a disappointing return' on £11bn cost, NAO says

Columbus School and College, Chelmsford, United Kingdom. Architect: Haverstock Associates LLP, 2013. Panorama of schoolyard with

Special needs school put students at 'risk of harm' as headteacher sacked

Gregg Wallace outside ITV Studios  Featuring: Gregg Wallace Where: London, United Kingdom When: 29 Nov 2016

Gregg Wallace formally sacked from BBC over no confidence 'learned behaviour' can be changed

GPs will be told to stop giving sick notes to sign people off work.

GPs told to stop handing out sick notes and start sending people to job coaches and gyms

A TUI plane destined for Gatwick was diverted to an airport in Maine, US.

Brits stranded in 'war zone' conditions for 12 hours as TUI plane diverts mid-flight due to 'smoking'

The charred remains of Grenfell Tower, Notting Hill, London, Britain. The 24 storey residential Tower block was engulfed in flames in the summer of 2017.

Grenfell families accuse government of ‘shameless betrayal’ over pause on investigation into 'implicated' firms

John Lacey, 42, was sentenced to 14-months imprisonment.

Thug, 42, jailed for punching pregnant girlfriend in stomach in attack that 'changed victim forever'

Morgan Gibbs-White is set to join Tottenham

Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White set to join Tottenham in £60m transfer

Empty shop with To Let sign in central West London.

London store closures hit 10-year high - as government urged to invest £5bn to save UK's high-streets

Liverpool Women v Aston Villa Women - Pre Season Friendly

Arsenal close to record-breaking £1m signing of Liverpool’s Olivia Smith in landmark deal

Blue Stevens was stabbed to death in Knightsbridge after 'standing up to someone who was trying to steal his watch'

'I can't stop crying': Heartbroken mum of man stabbed to death outside five-star hotel 'for his Rolex' pays tribute

'Birkin' bag by Hermes which belonged to British-French actress and singer Jane Birkin

Original Hermes Birkin bag which belonged to actress Jane Birkin sells for £8.6 million

Parts of an Air India plane that crashed on Thursday are seen on top of a building in Ahmedabad, India, Friday, June 13, 2025.

Investigators look into Air India's vital engine switches after plane crash killed 270 people