Trade unions, non-governmental organisations, human rights groups and political parties have voiced their opposition to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government’s plan to send undocumented migrants arriving in the UK to Rwanda. Among the critical voices are that of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which considered the plan an “appalling violation of international law” as well as that of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who in April considered that the plan poses “serious ethical issues”. “This is the opposite of God’s nature,” he said then. But the highest-profile critic is Prince Charles, heir to the throne, who described the measure as “appalling”, although his comment did occur during a private conversation that was revealed by the local press.
But the British Minister for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, defended the Executive’s policy and assured that it would not be “appropriate” to comment on the Prince’s alleged criticisms, which for him are “rumours”. “The reality is that this is a policy that will ensure” that “human traffickers know that their criminal methods will be dismantled.” Another government source quoted anonymously by the Sunday Times stated that the heir apparent should stay out of politics as his mother has done and that “while such intervention will be tolerated as long as he is Prince of Wales, it will not.” same when he becomes king. And it is that his personal opinions on politics could present “serious constitutional problems”, according to what a member of the cabinet assured the same newspaper.
Clarence House issued a statement over the weekend insisting that Prince Charles will remain “politically neutral” as monarch.
Questioned about the statements of the Prince of Wales this Monday in an interview, Prime Minister Boris Johnson limited himself to responding that “the job of the Government is to prevent people from breaking the law and to support people who are doing the right thing.” “I think it is very important that the criminal gangs that are putting the lives of people in the English Channel at risk are eliminated,” he settled.
