Priti Patel asylum plan ‘not racist or illegal’, civil servants told

Home Office official seeks to reassure staff over refugees to Rwanda scheme as union considers action over callous policy'

The Home Office's top civil servant has told thousands of his staff that they will not be breaking the law or be guilty of racism if they enforce Priti Patel's plan to send people with rejected UK asylum claims to Rwanda.

Amid growing anger from the department's workforce, Matthew Rycroft, the permanent secretary, faced questions at an online staff meeting asking if the home secretary's policy of giving people a one-way ticket to Kigali was racist, while others demanded to know if the new policy was within international law.