The Mail’s front page on Liz Truss’ Rwanda policy went down as well as you’d expect

Monday evening will see the first head-to-head debate between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, the sentient-barrel scrapings of Boris Johnson’s government, who are currently having a public slanging match to win his job.

Ever hungry for anything she believes to be positive publicity, the Foreign Secretary shared a Mail article about her latest campaign pledge – to send more people to Rwanda.

Coincidentally, the judicial review to determine whether the government’s flagship policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda is actually legal is set to begin on September 5th – the day the new PM takes office.

Neither the Mail nor Liz Truss covered themselves in glory with that front page, and the comments reflected it rather well – occasionally veering into NSFW territory.

1.

marshalling the spirit of pro- Mosley Mail in 1930s; hard to know which sinks lower – this rag or Truss pic.twitter.com/akmwcmzCje

— Simon Schama (@simon_schama) July 24, 2022

2.

Dismal to see Sunak/Truss competing to extend an unworkable, unethical, unaffordable, high fraud risk Rwanda scheme that will make trafficking worse.

Instead of tackling criminal trafficking gangs they are just ramping up rhetoric against refugees. Britain is better than this

— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) July 24, 2022

3.

Days like this I feel ashamed to be British. Yet I must be a better Briton than Liz Truss & those who publish these nasty headlines. What about Ukrainians? This evil racism will have a lasting effect on generations to come. I’m just thankful I have my platform & GMB to raise it. pic.twitter.com/0loaaPDMMx

— Adil Ray OBE (@adilray) July 24, 2022

4.

This could quite easily have been the front of a National Front flyer from the 70s. I’d like to see Truss and her supporters asked to disavow it. pic.twitter.com/zQh3jyLigT

— David Aaronovitch (@DAaronovitch) July 24, 2022

5.

BNP Tory and broken shop mannequin, Truss, obviously hasn’t spoken to Rwanda. They’ll only take 200 people, at a cost of £120 million to the tax payer.

I’d genuinely prefer a wild badger in a suit as Prime Minister. pic.twitter.com/AaM2fu1lHV

— Supertanskiii (@supertanskiii) July 24, 2022

6.

I wonder what 16 year old Lib Dem Truss would think if you'd showed her this from her future. pic.twitter.com/x3xYu38Mvm

— Sam Freedman (@Samfr) July 24, 2022

7.

Remember that saying that politicians "campaign in poetry, and govern in prose"?

I wonder what happened to that? pic.twitter.com/k4ihJquz29

— Incorrigible FCA (@ImIncorrigible) July 24, 2022

8.

Gigantic cost of living crisis, climate crisis, millions that can’t afford food. What’s your plan?

Both candidates to be PM:
I would simply be more of a cunt to people fleeing persecution and war pic.twitter.com/HS9dVqVLsC

— James Felton (@JimMFelton) July 24, 2022

9.

There's a view common among journalists that pointing out the Daily Mail's support for Hitler and Mosley in the 30s is somehow unfair or naive. It is neither of those things. The Mail today is very much the same newspaper. https://t.co/BjjiuYaHV6

— Dave Vetter (@davidrvetter) July 24, 2022

10.

I see the UK is having another normal, not-at-all-alarming-for-human-rights one pic.twitter.com/J6N43oOj3M

— Nadine Batchelor-Hunt (@nadinebh_) July 24, 2022

11.

I see the contest for leader of the BNP is heating up pic.twitter.com/WR2IQRgJdj

— Liam Thorp (@LiamThorpECHO) July 24, 2022

12.

She’s making this ‘promise’ in the knowledge that the despicable Rwanda scheme will in all probability be found to be illegal and won’t come to its ghastly fruition – but what does it say about the Tory membership (and Mail readers) that she believes this is the way to win them? pic.twitter.com/zQDF83HtUl

— Natasha Devon 🌈💙 (@_NatashaDevon) July 24, 2022

13.

Pretty much all the two candidates wanting to be Prime Minster now have to offer. It’s just “get Rwanda done” now pic.twitter.com/wWPNzD6nN3

— dominic dyer (@domdyer70) July 24, 2022

James O’Brien summed up the relationship between questionable government statements and a certain set of client journalists.

The more I see of Truss, the more I think of @rickygervais’s The Invention of Lying. She still seems stunned that you can spout *any* old Brexity bollocks to the faithful, secure in the knowledge that they’ll lap it up while the Mail & Telegraph stick it all on their front pages.

— James Oh Brien (@mrjamesob) July 24, 2022

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Image MoS via Adil Ray