More than 250 charities, advocacy organisations and faith groups, including the Church of Scotland, have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling on him to abandon the ‘deplorable’ Rwanda asylum policy.

The Safety of Rwanda Act was passed in late April, and Mr Sunak has said he expects the first flights taking asylum seekers to the African country to leave this summer, although not before the General Election on July 4. The open letter describes the law as ‘shameful and performatively cruel’.

“The Rwanda plan will force people who have fled violence and persecution into detention centres where they may face abuse and mistreatment, with no time limit. They will then be removed to a country to which they have no connection, despite our country’s Supreme Court ruling that it is unsafe for them. Through this law, the Government will put them at grave risk of mental and physical harm, and of being returned to danger in the countries they fled…

“Instead of continuing down this dangerous path, the Government must guarantee that asylum claims will be heard fairly on our shores, and open safe routes so that people are not forced to take dangerous journeys.”

The signatories to the letter include the Baptist, Methodist and United Reformed Churches and Quakers in Britain as well as Humanists UK, Interfaith Scotland, refugees’ groups from around the UK including Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees and Scottish Refugee Council, large charities including Oxfam and Friends of the Earth, disability, LGBTQ and domestic violence organisations.