Activists Disrupt UK Home Secretary Priti Patel's Speech To Protest Rwanda Deal

8 activists of the Green New Deal Rising staged a stir during the Bassetlaw Conservative Association Spring Dinner.

Priti Patel during her speech.

(Photo: Screenshot from video tweeted by @GNDRising)

British Home Secretary Priti Patel's speech was disrupted last week after pro-refugee activists managed to get into a Conservative party "spring dinner" and protested against the UK-Rwanda deal.

Eight young activists from the Green New Deal Rising interrupted her speech during the Bassetlaw Conservative Association Spring Dinner organised on Friday, 6 May, and demanded that Patel withdraw the controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

"As young people wanting to live in a fair and compassionate society, we are disgusted by your treatment of refugees," said one of the activists, before being removed from the scene by guards in plain clothes.

Hannah Martin, from Green New Deal Rising, said: "The plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is inhumane and will lead to the destruction of people's lives and further harm those people who are seeking safety," reported The Guardian.

"Those who stand for climate justice also stand against Priti Patel's cruel plans that demonise people who are escaping terrifying situations as they bear the brunt of the multiple crises of war, poverty, and the climate catastrophe. We want Priti Patel to drop the dangerous Rwanda migration plan and provide support and safety for migrants, refugees, and people seeking asylum," she added.

Under the UK-Rwanda deal, people who arrive in the UK "illegally" will be taken straight to Rwanda, where they will be assessed for resettlement.

In return, the UK has paid the Rwandan government £120 million to house the migrants and integrate them into Rwandan society.

The initial segment of the scheme is supposed to last for five years.

You can read more about it here.