Rwanda Supreme Court ruling LIVE: Cleverly says plan B ‘is ready’ as Sunak unveils effort to save scheme

Prime Minister vows to stop ‘foreign courts’ blocking flights amid pledges to get planes in air by spring

Sunak to introduce emergency legislation to revive Rwanda plan

James Cleverly has revealed the government’s plan B is “ready”, as a rattled Rishi Sunak has unveiled a last-ditch effort to save his flagship illegal migration policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.

After the Supreme Court ruled the policy is unlawful, the home secretary told Sky News the government’s backup plan to get the Rwanda scheme off the ground is “pretty much ready”.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said he would introduce emergency legislation to stop “foreign courts”, such as the European Court of Human Rights, from blocking flights to Kigali as he vowed to get planes in the air by spring next year.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, he said ministers would draw up a new treaty with Rwanda and make changes to domestic law to “remove the obstacles in our way” and address the Supreme Court’s concerns that the east African country is not safe for asylum seekers.

It comes as Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Sunak should apologise to the country for blowing £140m on the failed scheme. “He has wasted all of his time on a gimmick and now he is absolutely nowhere,” the Labour leader said.

Key Points

• Sunak: I’ll introduce emergency legislation to revive Rwanda plan
• Sunak’s Rwanda plan in tatters after Supreme Court rules it unlawful
• Rishi Sunak: ‘This was not the outcome we wanted… but we will stop the boats’
• Rwanda asylum plan: Timeline of government’s policy to deport migrants

[15 November 2023 20:25 · Matt Mathers]

Recap: Sunak’s Rwanda plan in tatters after Supreme Court judges rule it unlawful

Rishi Sunak‘s flagship plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is in tatters after the Supreme Court ruled it is unlawful.

The UK’s highest court ruled on Wednesday that flights will not be able to go ahead in a blow to the prime minister’s key pledge to cut immigration to the UK.

The unanimous ruling by judges agreed with a Court of Appeal decision in June that found that Mr Sunak’s £140m deal was unlawful because of deficiencies in the Rwandan asylum system. Both courts found that sending anyone to Rwanda would be in breach of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) as there was a “real risk” they could be returned to their home countries to face “persecution or other inhumane treatment”.

Holly Bancroft reports:

[15 November 2023 22:00 · Matt Mathers]

Is it the end of the runway for the government’s Rwanda policy?

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled No 10’s deportation plan unlawful, Sean O’Grady looks at what Rishi Sunak can still do to ‘stop the boats’ once the dust has settled.

Read Sean’s full piece here:

[15 November 2023 23:00 · Matt Mathers]

Sunak vows emergency law change in last-ditch bid to send asylum seekers to Rwanda

Rishi Sunak made a last-ditch effort to rescue Tory plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda after the Supreme Court left his flagship “stop the boats” policy in tatters.

The prime minister vowed to bring in emergency legislation and to strike a new treaty with the African country, following a ruling by the UK’s most senior judges that the original plan was unlawful.

Kate Devlin and Archie Mitchell report:

[16 November 2023 00:01 · Matt Mathers]

Rishi Sunak’s dream Rwanda scheme has been thrown out. What will he do next?

The government’s plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda have been ruled unlawful in a unanimous judgement by Supreme Court in a major blow for Rishi Sunak.

The flagship policy is a pillar of Mr Sunak’s commitment to “stop the boats” before the next election and immigration minister Robert Jenrick has insisted that the plan will go ahead “no ifs, no buts”. Reacting to the ruling, Mr Sunak said that while “this was not the outcome we wanted” the government had been “planning for all eventualities.”

Holly Bancroft and Archie Mitchell report:

[16 November 2023 01:01 · Matt Mathers]

ICYMI: MPs laugh as Sunak asked what Cameron’s ‘finest foreign policy achievement’ is

Laughter rang out in the House of Commons as Rishi Sunak was asked to name David Cameron‘s "finest foreign policy achievement" during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 15 November, Holly Patrick reports.

The former Conservative prime minister made a shock return to government on Monday after being appointed foreign secretary in a cabinet reshuffle.

Lord Cameron stood down as prime minister and quit as an MP after losing the Brexit referendum, which he had called, in 2016.

He will avoid regular grillings by MPs because of his position in the House of Lords.

Watch the clip here:

[16 November 2023 02:00 · Matt Mathers]

ICYMI: Starmer accuses Sunak of ‘fanboying’ over Elon Musk in heated exchange

Sir Keir Starmer accused Rishi Sunak of “fanboying” over Elon Musk in a heated exchange during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 15 November, Holly Patrick reports/

The prime minister and Labour leader traded blows after Mr Sunak sacked Suella Braverman as home secretary and appointed Lord David Cameron as foreign secretary.

Sir Keir was referencing Mr Sunak’s talk with the controversial X/Twitter owner about artificial intelligence (AI) in front of an audience of business chiefs at the beginning of November.

Mr Sunak described Mr Musk as a “brilliant innovator and technologist”.

Watch the clip here:

[16 November 2023 03:00 · Matt Mathers]

ICYMI: Boost for Rishi Sunak as he meets pledge to halve inflation

Rishi Sunak received a much-needed boost as inflation fell to 4.6 per cent, meaning his pledge to halve the rate at which prices are rising has been met.

The inflation rate when Mr Sunak made it the first of his five priorities was over 10 per cent, meaning he was hoping for a it to drop below 5 per cent.

Archie Mitchell reports:

[16 November 2023 04:00 · Matt Mathers]

ICYMI: Chinese state media hails David Cameron’s appointment as foreign secretary

David Cameron’s appointment as foreign secretary is being celebrated in Chinese state media for his “unique understanding” of the Sino-UK relationship.

The takeover of the Foreign Office by the former prime minister could “breathe new life into the China-UK relationship”, said Xi Jinping’s Communist Party-run Global Times in an opinion piece.

Shweta Sharma reports:

[16 November 2023 05:00 · Matt Mathers]

ICYMI: More than 50 criminal investigations begin into suspected fraud linked to Covid support schemes

More than 50 criminal investigations have started into suspected fraud linked to Covid-19 support schemes, according to Jeremy Hunt.

The Chancellor added that a total of 80 arrests have been made so far as he responded to concerns from Labour.

Richard Wheeler reports:

[16 November 2023 06:00 · Matt Mathers]

ICYMI: Sunak dumps Braverman’s plan to ban tents for homeless people

Rishi Sunak has dumped Suella Braverman’s plan to restrict tents being handed out to homeless people on the streets.

No 10 confirmed that the controversial proposal by the former home secretary – sacked on Monday in a radical reshuffle – won’t be taken forward.

Full report: