The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said in his Easter sermon at Canterbury Cathedral on Sunday that politics can not stand on God’s judgment. He said the measures announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Pretty Patel this week “cannot bear the burden of our national responsibility as a country shaped by Christian values.” He said this was “because subcontracting our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well, such as Rwanda, is contrary to the nature of God himself who took responsibility for our failures.” What you need to know – Listen to news and analysis Earlier this week, the government announced plans to restrict the passage of Channel migrants by small boats and people believed to have entered Britain illegally through January 1 may be sent to Rwanda, where they will be allowed to apply for asylum in the African country. The measures were met with strong reaction from opposition parties, some within the Conservative Party, and charities. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) opposed the plans, and on Saturday Robina Qureshi, director of the homeless refugee charity Positive Action in Housing, said: “The country’s refugee policy needs to be clear by now. “It’s not to save the skin of the refugees, it is to save the skin of this government.” Conservative MPs backed the plans, arguing that the issue of small boats is important to voters. However, the archbishop is expected to say that there are “serious ethical questions about sending asylum seekers abroad”. He will say: “The details are about politics. The beginning must withstand the judgment of God, and it cannot. It can not lift the weight of resurrection justice, of life that overcomes death. He can not lift the weight of the resurrection that was first appreciated by the least, because he favors the rich and powerful “. Home Secretary Priti Patel and Rwandan Minister Vincent Biruta Appropriations: Flora Thompson / PA Earlier, former refugee child and Labor peer Alf Dumpes said ministers would face opposition from the Lords over the plan. In an interview with The Guardian, Lord Dumps said the government was trying to “smoke” international agreements. He said: “I think it’s a way to get rid of people the government does not want, to throw them in a distant African country and they will have no chance of getting out of there again. “I think it is a violation of the 1951 Geneva Conventions for Refugees. “You can not just dismiss them as unwanted people.” However, the Home Office and Ms Patel defended the plans. He said he expected other countries to follow the example of the United Kingdom, while the Home Office insisted that its approach did not violate refugee agreements. Ms Patel said Denmark could be among those who would replicate the UK government’s “plan”. “There is no doubt now that the model we have presented, I am convinced, is world-class and world-leading, and will be used as a design in the future, there is no doubt about that,” Patel said. “I will not be surprised if other countries start coming directly to us after that as well.” A group of people believed to be immigrants arrive in an inflatable boat on Kingsdown Beach, near Dover, Kent. Credit: PA The interior minister said Copenhagen was in talks with Rwanda, adding that the Council of Europe “has also basically stated that it is interested in working with us”. But Lord Dumps, who came to the United Kingdom from then-Czechoslovakia on one of the Kindertransport trains in 1939, told the Guardian that there would be legal challenges and opposition from his peers. If (Mrs Patel) says she will get rid of the ‘left lawyers’ allegations’, I think she may have something else. “I understand that they will have real difficulties in overcoming it anyway,” he said. The SNP has also criticized the plan, calling it a “catastrophic waste of taxpayers’ money”. Home Affairs spokesman Stuart McDonald described it as “disgusting politics” and called on Westminster to abandon the plan and use the money to support people affected by the cost-of-living crisis. A Home Office spokesman said: “Our damaged asylum system is currently costing 1,5 1.5 billion a year to UK taxpayers – the highest amount in two decades. “This world-leading immigration partnership will review the damaged UK asylum system. It means that those who arrive in the UK safely, illegally or unnecessarily can relocate to have their asylum applications processed and, if recognized as refugees, build their lives there. “There is nothing in the UN Refugee Convention that prevents them from being evacuated to a safe country. “Under this agreement, Rwanda will process its claims in accordance with national and international human rights law and the Convention.”
