Former Prime Minister Sir John Major has criticised the earlier Government's Rwanda asylum plan, describing it as “un-Orthodox and un-British”.
The scheme was geared toward stopping individuals crossing the Channel in small boats by sending a few of the migrants who had reached Britain illegally to the East African nation.
However, the scheme stalled on account of authorized challenges and was cancelled by the brand new Labour authorities, and no migrants have been despatched to Rwanda beneath the scheme.
In an interview with the BBC's Amol Rajan, Sir John, who was Tory prime minister from 1990 to 1997, stated he thought the plans have been “disgusting”.
He stated, “I thought it was un-Orthodox, un-British, un-Christian if one dared to say it in a secular society, and unreasonable and I thought it was really not the way to treat people.”
Asked if the scheme was the deterrent wanted to cease small boat visitors, Sir John stated: “Are they seriously saying to me that in some remote area of some country in North Africa, they actually know what the British parliament has legislated for? I think not.”
“It probably would have been unfortunate if that had actually happened,” he stated. [a deterrent] – But it might nonetheless be disgusting in my eyes.”
In the wide-ranging interview, Sir John was also asked about his views on the future of the Conservative Party.
The former prime minister said he hasn't given many TV interviews lately because “there's not a lot I can say, I need to say, in favour of what the earlier authorities was doing.”
He added: “I believed it was higher to remain off the air. Now, in fact, the election is behind us, the occasion is trying to the long run once more, and I can begin talking out once more, hopefully in favour.”
Asked whether his party deserved to lose July’s general election, when the Conservatives suffered the worst defeat in the party’s parliamentary history, Sir John said “there comes a time when democracy requires a change of government”.
Sir John's government was also toppled by a landslide Labour victory in 1997, bringing Tony Blair to power.
He said, “I might see that in 1997, we had been in authorities for 18 years and it was completely appropriate to say that we have been drained and we have been working out of recent individuals to nominate as ministers and to re-energise the federal government.”
“And that actually applies [with the recent election results]Even although it was solely after I was 14.”
Sir John urged his party to appeal to the centre-right, “the place our pure assist actually is”, arguing that the Tories had lost far more seats to Labour and the Liberal Democrats than to the right-wing Reform UK party.
“We lost five [seats] People are very excited about the merger with Reform UK and some careless people are saying we should merge with them.
“Well, that would be fatal.”
However, Sir John said he was “optimistic” concerning the occasion’s future, including: “While we have had such a bad defeat, we have gained a base on which we can build in an entirely new and, I think, potentially effective way.”
Sir John stated he had not but determined who he would assist as the following Tory chief. Which will likely be introduced on November 2,
But he added: “I would like to support someone who would look at the long-term problems and suggest the direction we should go in and bring people back into the party who are genuinely centre-right.”
With inputs from BBC
