Boris Johnson Urges UK to Reinstate Rwanda Deportation Plan Instead of Digital ID Scheme

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on the UK government to revive the Rwanda migrant deportation scheme, arguing that it would be a far more effective solution than introducing digital identity cards for immigration control.

The current government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, is pushing for a digital ID system that would include citizens and residents as young as 13. The system is intended to help authorities, employers, and landlords distinguish between those legally in the country and undocumented migrants.

Starmer’s administration hopes the digital ID approach will succeed where previous border control and enforcement measures including increased security patrols and crackdowns on human smuggling have failed to reduce the number of illegal crossings.

However, in an interview with GB News, Johnson dismissed the plan as both costly and ineffective, insisting that the Rwanda asylum scheme remains the most practical deterrent to irregular migration.

“The digital ID idea will cost the UK a fortune and won’t stop the flow of illegal migrants,” Johnson said. “If we brought back the Rwanda plan, those thousands crossing in small boats wouldn’t even try. When we had the Rwanda plan, we didn’t let them score a goal we sent the ball straight back.”

Johnson’s government signed the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership in April 2022, under which Rwanda would receive and process asylum seekers arriving illegally in the UK. In return, Rwanda would receive financial support to host and reintegrate them.

The plan faced major legal challenges. In June 2022, the European Court of Human Rights blocked the first scheduled flight to Kigali after human rights groups filed emergency appeals.

The deal was revised in late 2023 to address earlier concerns and was approved by both houses of the UK Parliament.

However, in July 2024, shortly after taking office, Keir Starmer scrapped the agreement altogether, arguing that it would not effectively deter illegal migration.

Government statistics show that 29,437 migrants entered the UK illegally in 2023, rising to 43,640 in 2024, and 33,556 from January to September 29, 2025 figures Johnson says prove the need to reconsider the Rwanda plan.