International arbitrators reject $134 million claim by Rwanda against U.K. for scrapped migrant deal

Key points

• A panel of international arbitrators has rejected a multimillion-dollar claim by Rwanda against the United Kingdom linked to a refugee resettlement deal that Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped immediately after taking office in 2024. The deal, struck in 2022 by Mr. Starmer's predecessor, Rishi Sunak, involved sending migrants who arrive in the U.K. as stowaways or in boats to the East African country.
• It included arrangements for payments to Rwanda to help cover costs.
• Mr. Starmer's home secretary at the time the deal was scrapped, Yvette Cooper, called it the “most shocking waste of taxpayer money I have ever seen.”The Permanent Court of Arbitration rejected two Rwandan claims, each for 50 million pounds (USD 67 million), linked to funding for the cancelled deal.
• The decision was dated May 15, but formally announced by the Hague-based panel on Monday (June 1, 2026).
• It also rejected two other Rwandan claims linked to...