Rishi Sunak's new Rwanda bill risks inflaming anger on Tory right

The government has published its emergency bill deeming Rwanda a safe destination for asylum seekers, but it has come under fire - as Shehab Khan reports

Rishi Sunak's Rwanda bill risks angering those on the right of his Party by avoiding the most extreme option of disapplying all human rights agreements to stave off legal challenges.

The new Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill was released on Wednesday and is the second strand of the PM's plan to get illegal asylum seekers deported to Rwanda.

It says it would give effect to the "judgement of Parliament that the Republic of Rwanda is a safe country", after the Supreme Court deemed its deportation plan unlawful in November.

A government source said Rwanda would have dropped the deal if the new legislation meant disregarding international law, adding it is a "hardcore bill" that goes "as far as it could".

ITV News understands senior Tory MP and Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick is on the brink of resignation, while Labour has called the situation within the Party "total chaos".

Mr Sunak was warned by his former home secretary on Wednesday that he risks "electoral oblivion" over the issue if the new bill fails to appease the Tory right and get flights taking off for Rwanda - but has avoided adopting the most hardline option.

Instead of disapplying all human rights treaties, Mr Sunak has chosen to give ministers the powers to disregard sections of the Human Rights Act. It doesn't give them agency to dismiss the ECHR, as hardliners including Suella Braverman have demanded.

Addressing MPs in the House of Commons on Wednesday evening, new Home Secretary James Cleverly insisted that "Rwanda is, and will remain, a safe country for the purposes of asylum and resettlement," before adding he wants to see flights carrying illegal asylum seekers taking off for Rwanda "as soon as possible".

Home Secretary James Cleverly says Ministers will be allowed to disapply sections of the Human Rights Act to prevent legal challenges against sending illegal migrants to Rwanda

But responding to the legislation, Ms Braverman said it "doesn't come close" to her demands.

In statement, she said: "The Prime Minister has kept the ability for every single illegal migrant to make individual human rights claims against their removal and to then appeal those claims if they don’t succeed at first.

"It is fatally flawed. It will be bogged down in the courts for months and months. And it won’t stop the boats. It is a further betrayal of Tory voters and the decent patriotic majority who want to see this insanity brought to an end.”

'The Conservative Party faces electoral oblivion in a matter of months', warns Suella Braverman, ahead of the publication of the new Rwanda bill

"I have been unequivocal that we can no longer tolerate the endless scourge of illegal migration on our country," Mr Sunak said in defence of the new bill.

"It is costing us billions of pounds and costing innocent lives, and that is why we are taking action to put a stop to it and make clear once and for all that it is Parliament that should decide who comes to this country, not criminal gangs.

“Through this new landmark emergency legislation, we will control our borders, deter people taking perilous journeys across the channel and end the continuous legal challenges filling our courts.

“And we will disapply sections of the Human Rights Act from the key parts of the Bill, specifically in the case of Rwanda, to ensure our plan cannot be stopped."

However, Mr Cleverly said on the front page of the legislation that he couldn't be sure the new Rwanda bill is compatible with the ECHR.

It comes just one day after he travelled to Rwanda to sign a new treaty with the African nation, that binds in law its guarantee not to return asylum seekers to their home countries where they face the risk of persecution.

According to the Home Office, the new legislation will deem the African nation a safe country notwithstanding UK and international law.

Responding on Wednesday, Rwanda’s foreign affairs minister Vincent Biruta stressed the need for the UK’s legislation to comply with international law. “It has always been important to both Rwanda and the UK that our rule of law partnership meets the highest standards of international law, and it places obligations on both the UK and Rwanda to act lawfully. “Without lawful behaviour by the UK, Rwanda would not be able to continue with the Migration and Economic Development Partnership.”

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