Bishop of Manchester blasts government policy to send asylum seekers to Rwanda as a 'moral low'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The Bishop of Manchester has described the government's plan to deport failed asylum seekers to Rwanda as a 'moral low.' Rev David Walker referred to a line in the bible which states 'do not punish the innocent to catch the guilty' on the BBC's Newsnight programme as he condemned the controversial new policy.

It comes after a number of Senior Church of England bishops signed a letter which was published in the Times on Tuesday morning to coincide with the deportation of the first migrants to Rwanda. READ MORE:Inquest opens after woman's body found in woods Signed by the Most Rev Justin Welby and the Most Rev Stephen Cottrell, it says: "Whether or not the first deportation flight leaves Britain today for Rwanda, this policy should shame us as a nation." The letter is also signed by the bishops of London, Durham, Exeter, Birmingham and Manchester and adds: "This immoral policy shames Britain." Speaking to the BBC's Kirsty Wark on Monday night, the Bishop of Manchester said: "It's very unusual for all the Bishops in the House of Lords to sign the same letter. "We know that attitudes towards migrants by successive governments have been increasingly hostile more and more so.

This has probably reached a new low. We think it's a moral low. Jesus makes it very clear in the Old Testament; you do not punish the innocent to catch the guilty. "So yes I'm sure there are some people who get across to this country who don't have a right to be here, but people who would have a right to live here once they get to the UK to have their application processed and it would be accepted are not now going to have that happen to them. "That we believe is a moral failure on behalf of a country that has a much better history of dealing with