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UK activists heckle Priti Patel over 'cruel' Rwanda asylum deal at Conservative Party soiree

A speech by the UK Home Secretary Priti Patel was disrupted by social justice campaigners who demanded the government drop their controversial plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
2 min read
09 May, 2022
Patel has defended the Rwanda deal, saying it 'fully complies with international and national law' [source: Getty]

was heckled by activists on Friday who lambasted the government’s plans to

Eight young social justice campaigners disrupted Patel's speech at a Conservative PartyÌý"spring dinner"Ìýby standing on their chairs and calling on the Home Secretary to drop her "inhumane"

The protesters from Green New Deal Rising, a movementÌýwhich demandsÌýa green revolution underpinned by global justice, were each bundled out of the meeting by security guards.Ìý

"Priti Patel, your racist policies are killing people,"Ìýone activist can beÌýheard saying in a videoÌýposted on the activist group'sÌýTwitter page.Ìý

The campaignerÌýwas immediately booed by other attendees at the dinner, who then started chanting: "Out, Out, Out."Ìý

then tookÌýturns to stand up and slam Patel for her "racist" policies, as security removed them from the room.Ìý

"As a young person who wants to live in a fair and compassionate society, we are disgusted by your treatment of refugees in the UK," one said before being taken away by security.Ìý

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The UK government announced plans to give a one-way ticket to Rwanda last month as part of a memorandum of understanding between the two nations.Ìý

Patel, who has spearheaded against people who arrive via "irregular routes", defended the policy as being "very unique" and "not like a trade deal".Ìý

UK refugee charities decried the Rwanda deal as "cruel", arguing it will do little to deter vulnerable people from to seek sanctuary in the UK.Ìý

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