UK spent nearly £1 million on cancelled Rwanda scheme

Nearly £1 million has been spent on old planes intended for a now-defunct migrant scheme to Rwanda. The Home Office purchased these planes for £671,000 to train officers for deportations. Since the plan was canceled by Labour last July, taxpayers will face an additional £268,000 bill for storing the planes. This brings the total cost for this aspect of the scheme to £939,000. Three old Airbus fuselages were bought for training purposes and set up in a film studio hangar. This hangar, located at Cardington Airfield, has been used for various productions, including a Netflix show and big-budget films. The training facility was rented for over 15 months but remained unused for at least six months. The planes have been stored at Cotswold Airport since November after a brief period of use. Air Salvage International, the firm managing the planes, confirmed they will remain in storage until the government finds a new place for them. The Home Office mentioned that the storage contract was extended in November.