Rwanda’s government has attacked what it called a “disappointing” verdict from the UK’s top court which ruled a scheme to deport asylum seekers to the African country was unlawful.

The UK government suffered a major setback over its Rwanda scheme when the plan was dismissed by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

But a spokesperson for Rwanda’s government rejected the idea the East African country was unsafe for refugees, and argued there was “nothing wrong” with how it processes asylum claims.

Spokesperson Yolande Makolo told Sky News the judgment had been based on “hypocritical” and “dishonest” assessments by the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR).

Asked what she made of the verdict, she said: “It’s ultimately a decision for the UK judicial system. It’s disappointing – we have a really good record of hosting and welcoming migrants and refugees in this country.”

Rwanda remains “committed” to the partnership and is “ready” to receive migrants, she said.

The Supreme Court had said in its unanimous judgment that those sent to Rwanda would be at “real risk” of being returned home, whether their grounds to claim asylum were justified or not – breaching international law.

What is the government’s Rwanda plan and what will they do next?

Rwanda plan: What we know about the migration scheme’s future – and what we don’t

Blocked Rwanda scheme ‘already having effect’ – home secretary claims

Sky’s Mark Austin pressed Ms Makolo on this, to which she said the court had been referring to the risk of refoulment – the forcible return of refugees or asylum seekers to a country they could be subjected to persecution – and that this was based on “hypocritical criticism from the UNHCR”.

She said Rwanda had worked with the UNHCR for a “long time” and had not refouled anyone.

Austin then asked about another issue brought up by the Supreme Court, which said there had been an instance of Rwanda’s directorate-general of immigration dismissing 8% of claims without any written reason or right of appeal.

Ms Makolo said these were again examples given by the UNHCR that were “either dishonest or do not have the full context”.

She added that “any deficiencies they have found have been corrected since last year”.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Related posts:

New Zealand to open travel bubble with Australia – but ‘flyer beware’ Beijing Olympics’ brightest star tests positive for banned substance Two journalists and number of Afghan nationals arrested in Kabul, UN says Tsunami warning issued after powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake hits Japan Newborn’s body lies on floor of makeshift Mariupol morgue originally built for food storage ‘Historic’ day as Ukraine and Moldova accepted as candidates to join EU Images show mysterious ‘perfectly aligned’ holes beneath Atlantic Ocean Police in Paris pepper spray protesters as two votes of no confidence tabled against Macron Russian opposition leader jailed for 25 years after treason conviction Climate change, ‘highly flammable’ grass and the other factors behind Hawaii’s wildfire devastation US ‘committed’ to establishment of Palestinian state, says Blinken ‘This is genocide’: Mutilated, charred remains bear witness to the extreme barbarity of Hamas attack