UK won't take back asylum seekers from Ireland, says Rishi Sunak

The UK will not take back asylum seekers who have crossed into Ireland as the Rwanda deportation scheme gets going, Rishi Sunak has said.

The Irish deputy PM has said people are crossing from Northern Ireland because they fear being sent to east Africa.

Irish ministers are preparing emergency laws to override a recent Irish court ruling that banned returns to the UK.

But the prime minister said the UK was "not interested" in accepting people back from Ireland.

"We're not going to accept returns from the EU via Ireland when the EU doesn't accept returns back to France where illegal migrants are coming from," he told ITV. "Of course we're not going to do that."

The UK is aiming to begin sending asylum seekers to Rwanda from July, under a scheme to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats from France.

The standoff developed after the Irish government announced last week it plans to bring forward emergency legislation to allow it to return asylum seekers to the UK.

It came after the Irish Supreme Court ruled last month that the UK was no longer a safe "third country" to return asylum seekers to, because of the Rwanda policy.

Speaking earlier after a scheduled UK-Ireland conference, Ireland's deputy leader Micheál Martin said the new law would allow it to send people to the UK under a post-Brexit agreement.

"There was an arrangement, an agreement in terms of managing this issue," he added, without setting out further details.

But Downing Street has said that, even if Ireland passes new legislation, it is "up to the UK government to decide who we do and do not accept into the country".

Speaking after the UK-Ireland meeting, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said "in no way [do] we want to upset our relationship with Ireland" on asylum claims.

However he added that since Brexit the UK has been directed to "deal with the EU as a whole entity".

The issue was thrust into the spotlight after Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee told the Irish Parliament recently that 80% of recent asylum seekers had arrived from Northern Ireland.

She did not put a timeframe on the claim, and on Monday Mr Martin told reporters it was "not statistical" and was not based on any specific evidence or database.

"But it is very clear from the presentations of migrants that there's a change in the nature of where migrants have come from," he said, adding that Irish officials had noticed a shift "over the last year or two".

Ms McEntee had said that so far this year, a significant majority of people seeking asylum in Ireland had applied at an international protection office and not at a port or airport, suggesting people were coming from the UK via the land border.

Mr Sunak has argued any increased flow of people into Ireland shows his Rwanda policy is working.

The Rwanda scheme has been best by legal delays, but ministers are now hopeful of beginning flights this summer after legislation to enable them entered into effect last week.

On Sunday, Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Simon Harris said he would not "allow anybody else's migration policy to affect the integrity of our own one".

He said he had asked Ms McEntee to bring forward legislation to be discussed at the Irish cabinet on Tuesday.

The UK government is paying £500m to fund more border patrols to prevent small boat crossings to the UK, and a new detention centre in France, following a new deal between the two countries in 2022.

However, there no specific agreement since Brexit allowing the UK to return asylum seekers to France once they have crossed the channel.

Asked by ITV whether there were any negotiations ongoing with the EU on returns, Mr Sunak said: "No, I'm focused on getting our Rwanda scheme up and running."