The Home Office has refused to disclose whether it has asked for a refund from Rwanda after the asylum scheme was scrapped by Labour.
The UK gave at least £290million to Rwanda to set up accommodation and other services.
The Home Office, now headed by Labour’s Yvette Cooper, cited ‘international relations and commercial interests’ as it declined to reveal whether a request had been made, or any amounts involved.
The Tory scheme was set up to tackle the small-boat crisis and save lives by deterring migrants from crossing the Channel.
In January, Rwandan president Paul Kagame said a refund would be possible, adding that the money was ‘only going to be used if those people will come. If they don’t come, we can return the money’.
However, a freedom of information request for details of any refund, submitted by the TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign group, was refused.
‘The public interest lies in favour of withholding the information,’ civil servants said.
William Yarwood, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘The Government should be more interested in a rebate than sweeping the issue under the rug.’
The Home Office said the issue of a refund was ‘covered by the [FoI] exemption relating to the effective conduct of international relations’, adding: ‘The Government remains committed to transparency around the costs of the Rwanda agreement.’