South African president asks Rishi Sunak to let more students into historic speech

Cyril Ramaphosa gave the first speech to the British Parliament by a South African president since Nelson Mandela - under lavish gold leaf as the nation suffers power outages

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa during his State visit to Westminster Abbey (

Image: Getty Images)

The South African president will ask Rishi Sunak tomorrow to let hundreds of other students from his country into the Downing Street talks.

In a historic speech to MPs and peers this evening, Cyril Ramaphosa said he wanted to triple the 800 South Africans who had Chevening scholarships and 130 PhD students in Britain.

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In an unscripted intervention, he said, "I'd like to see those numbers tripled. And when I meet the Prime Minister tomorrow, that's part of the message I'll take to him."

It's the latest push on the Prime Minister - who this week resisted calls from businesses to ease immigration rules to address post-Brexit and Covid staffing shortages.

President Ramaphosa, during a state visit to the United Kingdom, delivered the first official address to members of both Houses of Parliament by a South African leader since Nelson Mandela in 1996.

He called on wealthy nations to send "substantial resources" to the poorest to pay for the effects of climate change.

In an unscripted intervention, he said, "I'd like to see those numbers tripled" (

Picture:

Toby Melville/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

He told the audience of around 400, including Boris Johnson and Peter Hain, that it was 'not charity' - 'it is compensation for the harm done and the harm still to be done ".

He added that Covid had exposed “fault lines within the world order” and admitted that South A...