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11 months ago
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Rishi Sunak and Mark Rutte
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had an awkward moment as he tried to welcome his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, to Downing Street, after a day of chaos over his plan for Rwanda.
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Sunak faces a crisis over his stalled plan to deport migrants to Rwanda
In the week when the beleaguered Conservative Party leader was fighting for his political survival, he was left at the door of his house, No. 10, on the famous street in central London, with his guest, before they opened it for him.
The two leaders took pictures before Sunak discovered that the door was closed, so they both looked desperately, searching for anyone to help them, until the door finally opened.
The gaffe occurred late on Thursday evening, after Sunak was forced to hold an emergency press conference to defend his plan in Rwanda, following the surprise resignation of Immigration Secretary Robert Jenrick.
After the gaffe circulated on social media, Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “This is just a sign of things to come: next year, voters have the chance to boot Rishi Sunak and the Tories out of No 10 for good.”
Downing Street said that Sunak took advantage of his meeting with his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, to talk about the "scourge of illegal immigration" and the UK's policy in Rwanda, in addition to the conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Media sources reported that Sunak wasted an “astronomical” sum of 240 million pounds of taxpayers’ money on his plan to send migrants to Rwanda, even though no one was sent there.
The Home Office admitted that the expected costs of the deal had doubled from £140 million to £290 million.
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