Policing Minister Chris Philp faces backlash for asking if Congo is different country to Rwanda

Policing Minister Chris Philp has faced criticism after he appeared to confuse the countries of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on BBC Question Time.

The MP for Croydon South was discussing the government's controversial newly-passed law of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda on the programme on Thursday night.

Responding to an audience member’s question, Mr Philp seemed to ask whether “Rwanda is a different country to Congo”. The audience member, who said he came from the DRC which he explained is fighting with neighbouring Rwanda, asked: “Right now in Goma there's a genocide going on and there's such a big conflict with people from Rwanda.

"So, had my family members come from Goma [a city on the country’s border] on a crossing right now, would they then be sent back to the country they are supposedly warring with – Rwanda? “Does that make any sense to you?”

Mr Philp replied: “No, I think there’s an exclusion on people from Rwanda being sent to Rwanda.” After the audience member pointed out his parents were “not from Rwanda, they're from Congo” to the echoes of audience laughter, the Conservative MP asked: “From Congo? Well, I mean, Rwanda is a different country to Congo isn’t it? “It’s a different country?” The comment caused a short outburst of laughter and looks of despair from some members of the debate programme’s audience, as Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s eyes darted around the room, which quickly turned into an online gif which he shared himself later.

Mr Philp continued: “There is a clause in the legislation that says if somebody would suffer, I think the phrase is ‘serious and irreversible harm’ by being sent somewhere, they wouldn’t be sent. “So there is that safety mechanism built into the legislation.”

Mr Streeting poked fun at Mr Philp following the show and shared on X a map of the neighbouring DRC and Rwanda, which have a long history of violent conflict.

An ally of Mr Philp reportedly told the BBC that his question had been rhetorical.

The Liberal Democrats' Sarah Olney said it showed this was "not a serious government", while Labour's Yvette Cooper shared a video of the exchange simply writing "no words.....".

Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds called the moment "incredibly embarrassing".

'It will become one of the defining images not just of this policy but of this government,' he told ITV News.

"The reaction of the audience says it all. And whilst we can all laugh, there's a really serious part to this - this is a lot of government money being wasted on something government ministers know themselves is a gimmick.

"It's a half a billion pounds nearly for 300 people at best if the scheme works. And the government knows they will be found out because I don't think they believe themselves it will stop small boat crossings."

The Rwanda Bill became law on Thursday after being granted royal assent, paving the way for deportation flights to get off the ground.

Discussing the Bill on the programme, Mr Streeting said the amount of time and public money that had been spent on the policy was a "disgrace".

“The fact we had to change the law to declare Rwanda a safe country, when the courts had looked at the evidence and concluded otherwise,” he argued.

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