One of Britain’s most senior ministers was criticized Monday for laughing in front of a migrant camp and asking for tips on interior design during a trip to Rwanda.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman was also criticized for taking only right-leaning media on the weekend trip, denying access to BBC London reporters and other liberal newspapers who attacked her plan to resettle asylum seekers in Rwanda.
Britain’s Conservative government is seeking to ban asylum claims by all illegal arrivals and transfer them to “safe” third countries, such as Rwanda, in an effort to stop thousands of migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats.
Rejecting criticism of Rwanda’s human rights record, Braverman said it would be a “blessing” for refugees to be permanently resettled there rather than in the UK.
“I encourage all critics to actually visit Rwanda before they make aspersions and throw incredibly prejudiced and snobbish opinions about what this beautiful country has to offer,” she said, according to British media.
In an interview with right-wing broadcaster GB News, he said the accommodation and construction project in Rwanda was “progressing” and was nearing completion.
Those deported from the UK will be able to have a “safe and secure life”, he added, calling it a “humane” and “compassionate” approach.
But the optics of the visit dominated discussion on social media when Braverman returned home.
One photo showed him laughing at the site of a house being built for asylum seekers in Kigali, sparking a meme of the same image being photographed in a Nazi death camp during World War II.
Braverman’s original photo was cropped, while a larger photo showed him laughing with two Rwandans.
“These houses are really beautiful, good quality, very beautiful, and I like your interior designer. I need advice for myself,” he said during a tour of the estate.
Britain’s opposition Labor party accused Braverman of indulging in “PR opportunities and photo ops”, saying it would use £140 million ($170 million) given to Rwanda to hunt down criminal gangs who profited from crossing the Channel.
The government’s resettlement plan is still under legal appeal in London and so far, there have been no deportation flights to Rwanda.