HEALTH minister Maria Caulfield has said she welcomes government plans to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

The Conservative MP for Lewes said that the country has a strong record on welcoming and integrating migrants and those who submit claims will be supported to build a new and prosperous life there.

However, the proposals have prompted backlash from the United Nations, charities, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Lewes Liberal Democrats, who described the move as “another Tory wheeze that will cost billions and achieve nothing”.

The five-year trial, set to cost an initial £120 million, would see some asylum seekers who arrive in the UK through dangerous methods like small boats or lorries, sent to the central African country and have their asylum claims assessed.

Ms Caulfield said: “This Conservative government has “done more than any other UK government to resettle vulnerable people - but only by controlling illegal migration can we protect our capacity to expand that generosity and properly support people to rebuild their lives.

“That is why I welcome the UK’s new migration and economic development partnership with Rwanda - a fast-growing country that is recognised globally for its record on welcoming and integrating migrants, while we are providing generous protection for those directly fleeing the worst of humanity, by settling thousands of people every year through safe and legal routes.

“It is this Conservative government that is delivering on the several votes of the British people to control our borders - not to close them.”

Critics have raised concerns over Rwanda’s questionable human rights record, with a Human Rights Watch report published last year uncovering evidence that authorities in the country had arbitrarily detained over a dozen gay and transgender people, accusing them of “not representing Rwandan values”.

James MacCleary, Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesman for Lewes, said the “bizarre” plan was a waste of taxpayers’ money and violates international law.

He said: “This is another Tory wheeze that will cost billions and achieve nothing. Transporting desperate people seeking asylum on our shores to a country like Rwanda which has a very poor human rights record is expensive, cruel and potentially unworkable.

“It has received widespread criticism, and part of the plan violates international law.

“Rather than fly people to Africa, the government should create safe and legal routes for asylum seekers at a fraction of the cost of this scheme, which would seriously combat people smuggling.

“They have allowed a huge number of asylum claims to build up, but instead of dealing with that they have invented this bizarre plan.

“There are cheaper, more humane and faster ways to approach this issue. We need safe routes and faster processing now, not pie-in-the-sky plans and more billions wasted.”

Home secretary Priti Patel defended the proposals and said existing approaches to tackling migration had failed.

She said: “Change is needed because people are dying attempting to come to the UK illegally.

“The demands on the current system, the cost to the taxpayer, and the flagrant abuses are increasing, and the British public have rightly had enough.”