£290million down the drain? Home Secretary Yvette Cooper brands Rwanda migrant deportation scheme a 'complete con' and suggests Labour will try to claw back cash after scrapping project before it begi

Yvette Cooper branded the Rwanda migrant deportation scheme a 'complete con' today as she hinted Labour would try to recoup some of the £290million spent before it was axed. The new Home Secretary said she planned to audit the programme to send Channel boat arrivals to east Africa, which was axed by Sir Keir Starmer in one of his first decisions after entering No10. Asked if she has had any contact with Rwanda about winding the plan down and getting any money back, Ms Cooper said: 'Well, the Prime Minister has obviously set out the position on the Rwanda scheme where as we know, the Conservatives ran this scheme for two and a half years, and sent simply four volunteers as well as hundreds of millions of pounds.' The Prime minister's spokesman admitted the summer will be 'challenging' for the Government as small boat crossings continue, with the Rwanda scheme 'dead and buried'.