Top Tory hits back after Rwandan President compared to Adolf Hitler by neighbour

12 December 2023 , 08:57

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Rwandan President Paul Kagame was likened to Hitler by his Democratic Republic of Congo counterpart (Image: Getty)

A newly-appointed Tory immigration chief has defended the Rwandan President after a neighbour said he was behaving like Adolf Hitler.

Michael Tomlinson, who was named as Illegal Migration Minister last week, hit back on a crunch day for Rishi Sunak as he tries to push through his deportation deal. He was quizzed about remarks by Democratic Republic of Congo leader Felix Tshisekedi, who claimed his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, will "end up like Hitler".

Mr Tomlinson told Sky News: "There are various ways of describing, that's one, that's not one that I recognise. That's not one that our country recognises.

"This is a respected international party that complies with their international obligations, as do we."

Mr Tshisekedi has long accused Rwanda of backing rebels in the east of his country - a claim Mr Kagame and his allies deny. Amid rising tensions between the two nations, he said in a speech at the weekend: "Since he wanted to behave like Adolf Hitler by having expansionist aims, I promise he will end up like Adolf Hitler.

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"However, he [has] met his match, someone who is determined to stop him and protect his country."

MPs will today vote on Mr Sunak's Rwanda Safety Bill, with the PM hosting potential rebels for breakfast at Downing Street. It comes as he tries to find a way around a Supreme Court ruling which found Rwanda isn't a safe place to send asylum seekers.

The deportation scheme - which has already seen the Government hand £240million to Rwanda - has been dismissed as a "gimmick" by critics and split the Conservatives. Despite a deal being reached by the two countries in April last year, no asylum seekers have yet been sent.

Mr Sunak was dealt a hammer blow when Supreme Court judges ruled the scheme is illegal last month. In a furious poison pen letter, sacked Home Secretary Suella Braverman accused him of having no Plan B amid calls to abandon the project altogether.

Meanwhile a "star chamber" of Conservative legal experts say the new Bill doesn't go far enough. The PM is this morning meeting potential rebels to plead with them not to break ranks and vote his flagship legislation down. Factions on the right have said the Bill needs to be heavily amended, but the moderate One Nation group says it won't stomach draconian changes.

The hard-right New Conservative group says the Rwanda Bill needs "major surgery or replacement". A spokesman for the group said last night: "More than 40 colleagues met tonight to discuss the Bill.

"Every member of that discussion said the Bill needs major surgery or replacement and they will be making that plain in the morning to the PM at breakfast and over the next 24 hours."

However, highlighting the difficulties facing Mr Sunak, One Nation chairman Damian Green warned its MPs would oppose any amendments that would risk the UK breaching the rule of law and its international obligations. He said: "We support the Bill unamended, but if anyone brings forward any amendments that breach our international obligations or breach the rule of law, we vote against those amendments at future stages.

"We will vote with the Government tomorrow, but we want the Government to stick to its guns and stick to the text of this Bill." So even if the Bill staggers through the Commons today, the fighting isn't over.

Dave Burke