Prince Charles, heir to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, has reportedly described the government’s plan to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda for asylum processing as “appalling”.
Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son Charles, Prince of Wales, is said to have privately expressed his dismay at Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plans to tackle illegal immigration, which continues to see record numbers cross the English Channel from France on dangerous small boats.
Charles, who, despite being bound by royal conventions on neutrality when it comes to political affairs, was apparently particularly annoyed about the plan to send illegals to African asylum centres over concerns that it may overshadow his appearance at the meeting of British Commonwealth nations in the Rwandan capital of Kigali later this month, The Times of London reported.
A source close to the prince told the British newspaper of record that he had heard Charles convey his opposition to the government policy on several occasions.
“He said he was more than disappointed at the policy,” the source said. “He said he thinks the government’s whole approach is appalling. It was clear he was not impressed with the government’s direction of travel.”
Prince Charles’ private office at Clarence House did not deny that the heir to the throne opposed the government’s measures but maintained that he has not tried to use his influence to sway lawmakers.
“We would not comment on supposed anonymous private conversations with the Prince of Wales, except to restate that he remains politically neutral. Matters of policy are decisions for government,” a spokesman said.
While the comments on the Rwanda policy were made in private, Charles has a long history of airing his views in public, most notably on climate change and the green agenda. Last year, for example, at the Glasgow-based climate change conference COP26, the Prince of Wales called on world leaders to marshal a “vast military-style campaign” to combat the supposed climate crisis.
The disclosure of Charles’s apparent opposition to the deportation plan follows interventions from the likes of ice-cream maker Ben & Jerry’s and actress Emma Thompson, who both publicly condemned the “racist” plan to send illegals to Rwanda.
Despite the antagonism from woke celebrities and the best efforts of so-called charities, unions, and activist lawyers, the Home Office recently overcame a hurdle for the plan to be put into action, with the High Court ruling on Friday that the first deportation flight, scheduled for Tuesday, should be permitted to get off the ground.
However, opponents of the plan, including controversial pro-migration “charity” Care4Calais and the Direct Action activist group, have been granted permission to appeal the decision on Monday. The relocation scheme as a whole will also face a legal challenge at the High Court later this year.
To date, over 10,000 illegals have crossed the English Channel in small boats from the shores of France just since the start of this year, more than two and a half times the numbers seen this time last year.
The government is hoping that by preventing illegal migrants from being allowed to claim asylum once on British soil and thereby remain in the country for years, they will break the business model of the people-smuggling gangs that operate the trafficking networks on both sides of the Channel and discourage migrants from travelling to Britain despite already being in safe countries.
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