The talks will take place at the meeting of the Commonwealth (Chogm) Heads of Government in Kigali this week. Prince Charles reportedly described the government’s plan to fly people 4,000 miles on a one-way ticket as “disgusting”. The meeting between the Prime Minister and Prince Charles will be the first time they will talk after the service about the Queen’s platinum jubilee. Prince Charles’ comments came several days later. Clarence House said the couple will meet for a “cup of tea and a date” on Friday morning. The prime minister’s official spokesman said the meeting would be “informal without a set agenda”. “They have to meet, they will obviously meet during the summit, but they are also going to have a bilateral discussion,” he said. The first flight carrying people to Rwanda was scheduled to take off last week, but was halted following a recent intervention by the European Court of Human Rights that led to several successful legal challenges. A Supreme Court hearing on whether the policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda is legal is set to be heard next month. The policy is part of a 120 120m financial deal with Kigali and has been widely criticized. The government has refused to disclose the expected cost of flights and the cost of living for those sent to Rwanda or the criteria for being selected for deportation. There are also deep concerns about Rwanda’s human rights record, including allegations of extrajudicial killings, extrajudicial killings of political opponents and a lack of media freedom. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST Rwandan President Paul Kagame has been praised for his role in ending the 1994 genocide in which hundreds of thousands of Tutsis were killed. But he has also been accused of ruthless harassment and kidnapping of political opponents. Among the alleged victims is Paul Rusesabagina, a former hotel manager in Kigali, whose efforts to save people in the genocide are mentioned in the film Hotel Rwanda. Rusesabagina, a U.S. resident and prominent dissident, was abducted while traveling in the Middle East in August 2020 and tricked into boarding a private jet to Rwanda, where he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Last month, the US State Department officially declared that he was being held illegally. Prince Charles, who is representing the Queen at the summit, landed in Rwanda on Tuesday. It is unclear what day he will hold talks with Johnson, but he will open the main summit for prime ministers and presidents on Friday.
