Rishi Sunak has insisted it was “wrong” to suggest he did not back the Rwanda scheme as chancellor because he sought “value for money” for taxpayers.
A report has suggested that he was not convinced of the plan’s effectiveness while serving as chancellor under former prime minister Boris Johnson and wanted to see it scaled back.
Mr Sunak is described as believing the “deterrent won’t work”, according to No 10 papers seen by the BBC.
The PM said he had not seen the documents the report was based on.
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But He did not rule out having voiced concerns about the cost of sending asylum seekers to the east African country when at the Treasury, instead saying it is the job of the chancellor to “always approach things from a position of scepticism”.
He said: “My job (was) to ask probing questions of every proposal that crossed my desk as chancellor.
“You should always ask probing questions, you should always approach things from a position of scepticism to ensure that you get value for money for taxpayers.
“But to infer from that that I don’t believe in the scheme or the principle of deterrence is wrong.
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But He did not rule out having voiced concerns about the cost of sending asylum seekers to the east African country when at the Treasury, instead saying it is the job of the chancellor to “always approach things from a position of scepticism”.
He said: “My job (was) to ask probing questions of every proposal that crossed my desk as chancellor.
“You should always ask probing questions, you should always approach things from a position of scepticism to ensure that you get value for money for taxpayers.
“But to infer from that that I don’t believe in the scheme or the principle of deterrence is wrong.
“I was doing my job to get good value for money for taxpayers.
“I went through that process, funded the scheme with the prime minister and, as Prime Minister myself, I have made sure that we have a similar deterrent working with Albania.
“And I have made the point that it is because Albania is working that we should have confidence that the Rwanda scheme will work too.”
Mr Sunak has made the Rwanda migrants deportation policy central to his premiership since entering Downing Street in October 2022.
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The Rwanda policy is seen as key to his pledge to “stop the boats” ahead of the next election, which the Prime Minister has signalled is likely to be held in the second half of 2024.
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The stalled scheme comes with a ￡290 million bill but no asylum seekers have been relocated as yet after the Supreme Court ruled the proposal unlawful.
The Safety of Rwanda Bill, a piece of legislation Mr Sunak hopes will prevent further legal challenges to the policy, is due to return to the Commons this month for debate.
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