‘Undermining democracy!’ Ex-Thatcher aide slams Civil Service over Rwanda asylum scheme

Priti Patel tells commons chamber to 'calm down and listen'

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Nile Gardiner, who worked as the Iron Lady’s foreign policy researcher from 2000 to 2002, took to social media to blast the Civil Service over its response to the UK Government’s asylum seeker policy. Boris Johnson and his Home Secretary Priti Patel unveiled the £120million scheme during a visit to Kent.

The scheme will ensure people who are deemed to have entered the UK unlawfully will be flown to Rwanda, where they will be processed.

If their bid is successful, they will have long-term accommodation in the African country.

The announcement made by the Prime Minister and Ms Patel last week comes after a record-breaking 28,526 migrants reached British shores in 2021.

At least 44 people died or went missing while attempting to cross the Channel.

In comparison, just 8,404 people made the perilous 21-mile journey in the whole of 2020.

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Writing on Twitter, Mr Gardiner told his 22,000 followers: “Appalling to see civil servants attempting to block/sabotage the policies of elected ministers.

“They are actively undermining democracy.”

Mr Gardiner also accompanied his tweet with a link to an article written by the right-leaning political website Guido Fawkes.

The article has alleged: “Home Office civil servants used an officially organised online consultation this afternoon to discuss the recently-announced Rwanda policy, asking how to potentially block the move, comparing themselves to Nazis ‘only obeying orders’, proposed going on strike and questioned how to deal with their mental health in light of the policy.

“It shows conclusive evidence of the scale of left-wing opposition facing Patel and the government from within the civil service.

“It follows news from the weekend that Patel had to issue a ministerial direction to force the policy through.”

The article also attached several forum comments, all penned by anonymous users.

One said: “Can we be collectively courageous and just say no as a department?”

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Another added: “Being impartial is one thing however should we not be afforded the opportunity to challenge policies we can clearly see are a disaster waiting to happen.”

A third respondent said: “We cannot simply wash our hands and walk away.”

The UK Government has also been criticised for the policy by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Labour and even ex-Prime Minister Theresa May.

Mrs May said: “From what I have heard and seen so far of this policy, I do not support the removal to Rwanda policy on the grounds of legality, practicality and efficacy.

“If it is the case that families will not be broken up, does she not believe and where is her evidence that this will not simply lead to an increase in the trafficking of women and children?”

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