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A small boat migrant who murdered a hotel worker just three months after arriving in the UK would have been eligible for deportation to Rwanda had Labour not scrapped the scheme, a leading Tory has claimed.

Sudanese killer Deng Chol Majek launched into a frenzied assault on mother-of-one Rhiannon Whyte, stabbing her 23 times at Bescot Stadium railway station in Walsall on October 20 2024.

Majek, who has been jailed for at least 29 years, tracked Ms Whyte to the station after she finished a shift at the Park Inn hotel, where he had been living, and attacked her with a screwdriver.

But Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the asylum seeker arrived in the UK in July 2024, meaning he was eligible for deportation to Rwanda.

Mr Philp claimed the murder could have been avoided if Labour had not scrapped the deal with Kigali.

He said: "Illegal small boat immigrant Deng Majek from Sudan murdered Rhiannon Whyte by viciously stabbing her 23 times with a screwdriver. She bravely tried to fight him off, sadly without success.

"While it is right he will serve a minimum of 29 years, this despicable man should never have been here to start with.

"Crimes like this are the consequence of mass illegal immigration.

"Given the timing of his illegal entry by small boat, he would have been eligible for deportation to Rwanda. If Labour had allowed the Rwanda scheme to start as planned, this man could have been rapidly deported instead of being put up in an asylum hotel. This murder could have been averted.

"It is now clearer than ever that we must leave the ECHR and deport all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival."

Ms Whyte's family branded Majek "demonic and inhuman" in statements made in court on Friday as he was handed a life sentence.

CCTV played at Majek's trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court showed he disappeared from view on to a deserted platform for 90 seconds at around 11.18pm to attack Ms Whyte, 27, the mother of a five-year-old son.

She died in hospital three days later, after being found injured in a shelter on the platform by the driver and guard of a train which pulled in about five minutes after the attack.

Mr Justice Soole said the Sudanese asylum seeker had taken a screwdriver to the scene of the murder and used it to kill Ms Whyte.

"I am sure that you brought it to the scene with the intent to murder Rhiannon," the judge said. "I am sure that the offence involved a significant degree of premeditation. The CCTV shows that for substantial parts of the evening of October 20 you had been in the reception area of the hotel and staring fixedly in the direction of the group of female employees, including Rhiannon, who were working there.

"Then at the time of the end of Rhiannon's shift, you went outside by the main entrance after Rhiannon had come out, you then followed her all the way to the station platform armed with your weapon.

"Secondly, the particularly vicious brutality of this sustained assault with your chosen weapon. Thirdly, its commission against a woman alone late at night in a public place. Fourthly, your disposal of evidence with the intent of escaping detection. The CCTV evidence shows you throwing Rhiannon's mobile into the river. It was later retrieved by a police diver. You evidently disposed of the screwdriver."

And Mr Justice Soole said the killer maintained he was aged 18 when he entered the UK in July 2024 but age assessments had concluded he was actually aged between 25 and 28.

"I consider that the greatest likelihood is that you were born in 1998 as the German documents attest," the judge said.

In an emotional statement to the court, Rhiannon's sister said she was speaking on "behalf of me and my broken-hearted siblings Emma, Daniel and Cara, and Rhiannon's two nieces and seven nephews. Most importantly for her now six-year-old son".

She said Majek carried out a "vicious and pitiless assault on a terrified and defenceless young woman who he claims never to have spoken to or noticed".

Addressing Majek, who showed no emotion, Ms Whyte added: "I honestly feel that calling you demonic and inhuman is justifiable in the circumstances. What are we supposed to say? You brutalised Rhiannon and then partied as if nothing had happened. You celebrated. You might as well have danced on her grave."

Rhiannon's mother Donna Whyte also gave a statement in court, telling Majek "let me see you dancing now".

She said: "Her name will not be forgotten, she will not be a distant memory. We will keep her alive in our memory. You, however, are an evil nightmare that will be put aside, known only for your cruel and malicious act.

"By the grace of God, I hope you never see the outside world again."