Braverman criticised for shutting out Guardian
and BBC from Rwanda trip
Home secretary accused of rewarding favourable
coverage on visit aimed at reinforcing government’s migration plan
Guardian
staff and agencies
Sat 18 Mar
2023 08.55 GMT
Suella
Braverman has made her first trip to Rwanda as home secretary amid criticism
that the Guardian, other liberal newspapers and the BBC have been shut out from
the publicly funded visit.
Before the
trip on Friday, Braverman said her controversial policy to deport asylum
seekers to the African country “will act as a powerful deterrent against
dangerous and illegal journeys”.
Her
predecessor, Priti Patel, signed an agreement with Rwanda in April last year in
an effort to deter small boat crossings in the Channel, but the £140m deal
remains embroiled in legal battles.
The charity
Freedom from Torture labelled it a “showboat trip” after it emerged that the
Guardian, the BBC, the Daily Mirror, the Independent and the i newspaper were
not invited. The home secretary will be accompanied by journalists from
organisations including GB News, the Daily Mail and the Telegraph.
Sonya
Sceats, the chief executive at Freedom from Torture, described the policy as a
“cash-for-humans” scheme.
She said:
“Braverman is jetting off on a showboat trip to Rwanda the very week that the
court of appeal has accepted that there are serious questions to be answered
over the legality of this government’s cash-for-humans scheme.
“Following
the outpouring of support for Gary Lineker and his compassionate stand on
behalf of refugees, this government knows it is on the back foot and is once
again ramping up the cruelty to distract from their own failures.”
Index on
Censorship, which works to defend freedom of expression, also criticised the
exclusion of some news organisations. Its editor at large, Martin Bright, said:
“We are concerned to hear that journalists from organisations judged to be
critical of the government’s immigration policy have not been invited …
Democracy depends on an open and transparent relationship between government
and the media, where all journalists are able to scrutinise the government.
“Index on
Censorship believes that access to government ministers, both domestically and
as part of international visits, should not be treated as a reward for
favourable coverage.”
In a
statement, Guardian News and Media said: “We are deeply concerned to learn that
– once again – journalists from the Guardian and other news organisations
appear to have been excluded from reporting on a taxpayer-funded trip to Rwanda
to discuss a flagship government policy.
“Excluding
journalists who provide scrutiny of key policies is not only damaging to press
freedom, which the UK government claims to champion, but may also contravene
the government’s own propriety guidance on dealing impartially and evenhandedly
with members of the media.
“We have
written to the Home Office permanent secretary to ask for an explanation of how
this has happened.”
During her
trip, Braverman is due to meet President Paul Kagame and her counterpart,
Vincent Biruta, to discuss the deal.
“I am
visiting Rwanda this weekend to reinforce the government’s commitment to the
partnership as part of our plan to stop the boats and discuss plans to
operationalise our agreement shortly,” she said.
Braverman
also hit back at critics of the deal, saying Rwanda could hold “many thousands”
of migrants – although none have yet been relocated.
“The
suggestion that Rwanda can only take 200 people is a completely false narrative
peddled by critics who want to scrap the deal,” she said.
“Rwanda has
the capacity to resettle many thousands of people, and can quickly stand up
accommodation once flights begin.”
PA Media
contributed to this report
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