Policing Minister Faces Criticism for Confusion Over African Countries During BBC Question Time

Political parties have denounced the Policing Minister Chris Philp for seeming to conflate two African nations during his appearance on BBC Question Time. An audience member hailing from the Democratic Republic of the Congo inquired about the government’s new legislation regarding the deportation of certain asylum seekers to Rwanda.

In response, MP Chris Philp, representing Croydon South, appeared to mix up the neighboring countries. Commenting on the situation, Philp initially suggested that there was a provision excluding individuals from Rwanda being sent back there, causing some laughter among the audience. His assertion led to criticism from opposition figures like Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting.

The government’s recent Rwanda bill, now enacted as law, allows for the deportation of asylum seekers who entered the UK ‘illegally’ after January 1, 2022, to Rwanda. During the Question Time session, the audience member highlighted the ongoing conflicts and history of violence between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, questioning the logic of potentially deporting individuals back to a country with which there is conflict.

The discussion took an awkward turn when Chris Philp appeared to misunderstand the audience member’s query about Goma, a city on the DR Congo’s border with Rwanda. Despite the clarification that the audience member’s family was not from Rwanda but the DRC, Philp seemed to struggle with the distinction between the two nations.

Following the incident, Labour’s shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock criticized the government for allocating a significant sum of money to a country they seemingly couldn’t locate on a map. This sentiment was echoed by the Liberal Democrats’ Sarah Olney, who described the administration as lacking in seriousness and competence.

An associate of Chris Philp later suggested that the minister’s remarks may have been rhetorical, aimed at reiterating the differences between the two countries rather than showcasing a genuine confusion. The episode of Question Time, recorded in Tottenham, North London, displayed the ongoing debates surrounding immigration policy and the treatment of asylum seekers in the UK.