The UK will pay at least £370m to Rwanda as part of its plan to relocate asylum seekers there, the government’s spending watchdog has revealed.
Up to £150,000 will also be paid for each person sent to the east African country over a five-year period.
Labour said the new figures in the report by the National Audit Office (NAO) were a “national scandal”.
However, the Home Office said: “Doing nothing is not without significant costs.”
A spokesperson said: “Unless we act, the cost of housing asylum seekers is set to reach £11bn per year by 2026.
“Illegal migration costs lives and perpetuates human trafficking, and it is therefore right that we fund solutions to break this unsustainable cycle.”
The NAO report comes after MPs have been calling for greater transparency over the cost of the scheme.
Under the five-year deal, the UK would be able to send individuals who arrive in the country illegally to Rwanda to claim asylum there.
The aim of the policy is to deter people from crossing the English Channel in small boats – something Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made one of his key priorities.
However, the scheme has been stalled by legal challenges and no one has been relocated there yet.
The government says it is aiming for deportation flights to take off by the spring.
Legislation seeking to revive the plan has been approved by MPs and will be debated in the House of Lords next week, where critics are likely to seize on the latest costs.
