We knew that sending people to Rwanda was not going to work, but we persisted with it anyway.

Our government forked out millions on the scheme, and anyone with any ounce of common sense would have told you straight away that it was not really going to work.

Recently, the new Home Secretary Yvette Cooper revealed that the Rwanda deportation scheme cost Britain £700 million, despite only four volunteers being sent to Kigali.

Also going is the Bibby Stockholm barge which would have cost more than £20 million next year, and scrapping it is expected to save £7.7 billion in asylum costs over the next 10 years.

If you read all the headlines, you would think people were completely obsessed with immigration in this country.

It does matter, but not as much as many sections of the media would like to make out.

We are always attempting to sell the next gimmick over immigration to the public because it makes for good headlines.

It has always been an easy get-out clause for politicians and social media commentators as it deflects from the genuine ills in society. 

This particular plan was a waste of money from the start and it is unlikely we are ever going to get our money back. 

What most people find extremely problematic is that we have different levels of punishment for different levels of crime.

If you fail to pay a £30 parking fine or go a couple of miles over the speed limit we are faced we will face the full force of the law.

If we pay late then that price will shoot up and we will eventually be pursued by a team of bailiffs until we cough up.

The small man’s crime is more urgent to deal with than the rich man’s ‘mistake’.

I say this because, over the past few years, we have squandered billions on Covid schemes that did not work and more millions here on the Rwanda scheme.

Money which could and should have been used for better purposes.

We are constantly moaning about austerity and cuts to social services, libraries and youth centres.

But we tend to find money for schemes and plans which from the start look poorly planned and thought out.

Yet, we persist. I am sure we will do so again because if you can milk the system for millions then why not? There is no accountability.