Rwanda appeal ruling – live: Braverman says ‘it’s not over yet’ as she doubles down on ‘unlawful’ asylum deal
Court of Appeal judges concluded that the African nation is not a safe country to receive refugees
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Home secretary Suella Braverman has insisted “it’s not over yet” as she doubled down on her Rwanda asylum plan, after it was ruled unlawful by the Court of Appeal.
The plan to forcibly deport small boat migrants to the African nation was blocked on Thursday, with judges concluding it is not a safe country to receive asylum seekers from the UK.
The Court of Appeal had granted an appeal by asylum seekers selected for deportation after the High Court ruled in December that the plan was lawful. Following Thursday’s judgement, Rishi Sunak said he “fundamentally disagreed” and would appeal to the Supreme Court.
That process will take several more months and threatens the passage of the new Illegal Migration Bill, which aims to see small boat migrants detained and deported without asylum claims being considered.
Addressing the Commons, Ms Braverman insisted “the British people will no longer indulge the polite fiction that we have a duty or infinite capacity to support everyone in the world who is fleeing persecution”, adding: “It is unfair on those who play by the rules and who want to see an asylum system that is fit for purpose.”
Sir Keir Starmer labels Rwanda deal a ‘headline-grabbing gimmick’
Asked about the Court of Appeal ruling during a visit to Selby, Sir Keir Starmer said: “Labour’s got a plan to stop the boats and that involves going after the criminal gangs that are driving this vile trade, and dealing with processing the applications for asylum, which are at an all-time low.
“The Government hasn’t got a plan. It’s had one gimmick, one headline-grabbing gimmick, Rwanda, which has already cost the taxpayer £140 million without anybody having gone to Rwanda.
“What the court’s judgment shows is they’ve spent that £140 million of taxpayers’ money without even doing the basics to see whether the scheme was really fit for purpose.”
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “We’ve had more Conservative home secretaries in Rwanda than we’ve had asylum seekers sent there.
“They’ve done slogans and they think that’s what people want to hear. It’s not working, it’s not going to work, they were told it wasn’t going to work, and they’ve wasted millions of pounds and put people in hotels up and down the UK as opposed to actually tackling the problem.”
More charities call for Government to scrap Rwanda policy
Laura Kyrke-Smith, Executive Director of International Rescue Committee UK, said: “This latest ruling is yet another reason the Government should abandon the Rwanda Plan and its disastrous “Illegal Migration” Bill.
“By the Government's own assessment, published earlier this week, there is no evidence that these expensive deterrence initiatives will achieve their aim of “stopping the boats”.
“ What will work to reduce dangerous journeys, end the indefinite use of hotels, and uphold the right to asylum, is investing the money in our own asylum system and scaling up safe routes.”
Watch: Suella Braverman says she ‘respectfully disagrees’ with Rwanda ruling
YouGov polling shows that even before Court of Appeal ruling, 56% of Britons thought it was unlikely any migrants would ever be deported to Rwanda
Suella Braverman addresses parliament on ruling
Suella Braverman has doubled down on the government’s troubled pledge to “stop the boats” in a statement to parliament.
She sought to play down the Court of Appeal’s ruling that the Rwanda scheme is unlawful, and that it is not a safe country for receiving asylum seekers forcibly deported from the UK.
The home secretary inaccurately claimed that judges’ concerns were “not that conditions while in Rwanda would be unsafe, but that there was a possibility that they could be returned to other countries”.
She added: “It is therefore simply incorrect to say that the court has found that conditions in Rwanda make it unsafe for individuals there.”
But the lengthy judgment made extensive reference to a 2018 incident where Rwandan police had shot refugees protesting about food shortages dead, and a previous deal with Israel that saw deported migrants disappear and die.
It said the British government itself had acknowledged that Rwanda is “a one-party state which reacts unfavourably to dissent”, and had been “too ready to accept assurances” from its government, while ignoring events and concrete evidence from “the past and the present”.
Ms Braverman told parliament the judgment was “disappointing” and that the government would appeal to the Supreme Court.
“We hope that the process will be swift,” she added. “We have a strong relationship with Rwanda and both sides remain committed to the policy.”
The home secretary expanded the deal, which has never been voted on by parliament, to encompass trafficking victims as well as asylum seekers during a visit to Rwanda in March.
The Independent revealed that Ms Braverman did not formally disclose her prior links to the country’s government when she took up her post, despite leading a charity training Rwandan government lawyers for five years.
She resigned as director of the Africa Justice Foundation weeks before being elected as a Conservative MP in the 2015 general election.
Suella Braverman told off by Speaker for using statement to attack Labour
Suella Braverman has been told off by the Speaker of the House of Commons for using the debate following her statement on the ruling to repeatedly attack Labour.
“This isn’t about the Labour Party, this is about what the government is doing,” Lindsay Hoyle said, telling her to stick to the subject of the statement.
Shortly before, Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, told parliament the judgment shows the prime minister and home secretary “have no plan to fix the Tories’ small boat chaos and their only policy is now completely unravelling”.
She said the government had not “even do the basic work to make sure the Rwanda scheme was legal or safe” and called it a “costly and damaging distraction from the action that should be taken”.
Ms Cooper accused ministers of “wasting people’s time on ramping up the rhetoric rather than coming up with solutions”, and letting a record asylum backlog grow.
She pointed to an excerpt from the Court of Appeal judgment where the Lord Chief Justice called it “political hyperbole” to say that Rwanda would become a “destination for thousands of asylum seekers” from the UK.
“The evidence before the Divisional Court was that the physical capacity for housing asylum seekers in Rwanda was limited to 100; that of the 47 originally identified for removal the Home Office expected in fact to remove about 10,” he added.
Suella Braverman told it could ‘take months’ for the Supreme Court to decide the case
The home secretary told parliament the Home Office would not be serving its formal request to appeal the Court of Appeal judgment until 6 July, and would afterwards be “in the court’s hands”.
Conservative MP Mark Francois had asked if the government could speed up the process, adding: “Given legal procedural issues it could now take months for the case to reach the Supreme Court, let alone for a judgment to be handed down. In the meantime, the boats will keep coming.”
Delay upon delay for the government’s small boats policy
The Court of Appeal ruling is just the latest in several delays relating to the government’s wider policy on small boats.
Rishi Sunak’s vow to house asylum seekers on barges and military bases has also faced repeated delays, with a legal challenge by affected local councils being heard at the High Court next month.
The first barge, which the government claimed would house 500 asylum seekers, had been due to arrive in Portland this month but remains in Cornwall undergoing refitting and checks.
And last night, the House of Lords passed several amendments to the flagship Illegal Migration Bill, which the government claims will give it the power to detain and deport all small boat migrants.
The House of Commons will now have to vote on those amendments and send the changes back in parliamentary “ping-pong”. And even if the bill is passed in its current form, without the Rwanda deal, the government has nowhere to deport asylum seekers to.
Home secretary dodges questions on Rwanda costs and a plan B
Suella Braverman has finished being grilled by MPs following her statement on the Court of Appeal ruling.
She refused to directly answer questions on how much more money would be spent on the legal battle, which had cost £1.3m by March, or on an official impact assessment showing that deporting asylum seekers is more expensive than hearing their claims in Britain.
Asked what her plan was if the Rwanda deal cannot go ahead, the home secretary did not outline any other strategy.
She said: “It’s not over yet. This is a Court of Appeal judgment, we’re seeking permission to appeal it and we will await the outcome.
“It is premature to assume this is the end of the policy. We are committed to delivering it.”
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