Tory MP fails in ‘fascistic’ bid to ignore human rights rulings and start Rwanda deportations

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3 years ago

December 14, 2022

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A backbench Conservative MP has failed in an attempt to override international human rights rulings and get the Rwanda deportation scheme up and running again.

Jonathan Gullis was said to have the backing of former prime minister Boris Johnson and former home secretary Priti Patel – but the bill he proposed was voted down by 188 votes to 69.

The plan to send people to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed was announced during the Johnson administration in April, with Ms Patel spearheading the policy.

Although the government has paid Rwanda £140m, no flights have taken off yet due to a series of legal challenges over the summer.

The first flight in June was grounded at the 11th hour by a legal challenge from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which is currently being considered.

Mr Gullis had attempted to introduce a bill to parliament which would have ignored the Strasbourg Court and allowed the flights to restart immediately.

Other senior Tories said to be in favour of the legislation included former cabinet ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries – but they did not vote today, and neither did Mr Johnson.

Mr Gullis said he wanted “parliament, not unaccountable foreign judges in Europe” to have the final say on the Rwanda scheme.

Bill ‘offensive and dangerous’

But SNP’s Alison Thewliss called his Asylum Seekers (Removal to Safe Countries) Bill “offensive, grubby and dangerous” as she tore into the Conservatives’ rhetoric on immigration.

The MP for Glasgow Central pointed to the deaths of four migrants in the Channel today and said if Mr Gullis had “any sense of compassion” he would have withdrawn the bill

“He should be ashamed of himself,” she told the Commons.

“No one is illegal, but this bill just might be.”

Labour’s Andy McDonald also criticised the bill, tweeting: “I’m pleased we defeated Jonathan Gullis’s fascistic bill that would’ve allowed ministers to disregard international law over their Rwanda scheme.

“As we mourn the tragedy of those who died in the Channel last night, this is a small victory in the struggle for a more caring world.”

A search and rescue operation is ongoing after a migrant boat got into difficulty in the Channel this morning.

More than 40 people have been rescued while four are confirmed dead.

Channel tragedy latest – Helicopters and lifeboats scrambled to rescue vessel

The tragedy has led to criticism of the government’s “hostile” immigration policies, which Refugee Action say are “designed to keep people out and not keep people safe”.

Government ‘playing to the right of the party’

Sir Roger Gale, Conservative MP for North Thanet in Kent, told Sky News his party was “playing to the right-wing gallery” with some of its measures.

Mr Sunak has vowed to crack down on immigration, and on Tuesday unveiled a raft of laws aimed at stopping people crossing the Channel.

He said this would include restarting the Rwanda deportations, which has been widely criticised by opposition parties, charities and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

A decision is due imminently on whether the government’s plan to send migrants to the east African nation is lawful.

The Home Office argues the scheme will help break the business model of people smugglers facilitating what they call illegal immigration, but critics have raised concerns about human rights abuses in Rwanda and say there is no evidence it will act as a deterrent.

More than 40,000 migrants have crossed the Channel this year – a huge increase on 2021, when it was fewer than 29,000.

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Belgium announces it will recognise Palestinian state

Published

1 hour ago

September 2, 2025

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Belgium announces it will recognise Palestinian state

The Belgian government has said it will officially recognise the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly this month.

The country’s foreign minister, Maxime Prevot, announced it will join the UK, France, Canada, and Australia in recognising a Palestinian state.

Belgium will also introduce “firm sanctions” against the Israeli government, he said, including a ban on imports from West Bank settlements and possible judicial prosecutions.

The Israeli foreign ministry and its Belgian embassy have not yet commented on the announcement.

However, its foreign ministry previously said the UK’s plan to recognise Palestine “constitutes a reward for Hamas”.

Sir Keir Starmer announced in July that the UK would recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel meets certain conditions, those being:

• Israel takes substantive steps to end the “appalling situation in Gaza“

• Israel agrees to a ceasefire

• Israel commits to a long-term sustainable peace – reviving the prospect of a two-state solution

• Israel must allow the UN to restart the supply of aid

• There must be no annexations in the West Bank

In response, the Israeli foreign ministry said: “The shift in the British government’s position at this time, following the French move and internal political pressures, constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of hostages.”

The UN General Assembly session in New York will begin on 9 September. Ireland, Spain, and Norway all officially recognised a Palestinian state last year.

Out of the 193 United Nations member states, 147 already recognise Palestine as a state as of March 2025.

Earlier this month, Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich announced plans to build a new settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which he said would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.

It comes after US secretary of state Marco Rubio revoked the visas of 81 delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) – blocking them from attending the general assembly.

Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.

But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.

The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza is now more than 63,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

It added that nine more people, including three children, died of malnutrition and starvation over Monday, raising deaths from such causes to at least 348, including 127 children.

The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage.

World

Afghanistan earthquake: A catastrophe compounded by Trump’s aid cuts

Published

1 hour ago

September 2, 2025

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Afghanistan earthquake: A catastrophe compounded by Trump's aid cuts

Earthquakes represent a constant danger in Afghanistan – a country which sits across three geological fault lines.

This most recent rupture near the city of Jalalabad – leaving more than 800 people dead – represents the third major quake in the past four years.

But the people of this impoverished nation are vulnerable in a number of ways.

The impact of foreign aid cuts

Since the Taliban took control in 2021, the international community has withdrawn much of the financial support which formed the bulk of government spending in Afghanistan.

Even humanitarian aid, which generally bypasses government institutions, has shrunk substantially – from $3.8bn (£2.8bn) in 2022 to $767m (£566.6m) this year.

The US government, through its international development arm USAID, provided 45% of all assistance granted to Afghanistan last year – but the Trump administration has slashed those sums.

The UK, along with France, Germany, Sweden, and others have also made deep cuts to humanitarian aid.

As a consequence, hundreds of hospitals and local health clinics in the country have been shut this year and related medical posts have been lost.

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This crisis comes as the country tries to absorb millions of people who fled when the Taliban took power. More than two million have come back this year, with Pakistan and Iran taking measures to force their return.

On arrival, they discover a country where more than half the population requires urgent humanitarian assistance, according to the UN – with millions suffering from acute food insecurity.

Large parts of northern Afghanistan have been stricken with the long-term drought.

A catastrophe compounded in a nation that ranks as one of the poorest – and most desperate – on Earth.

World

More than 1,000 feared dead in Sudan landslide, rebel group says

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1 hour ago

September 2, 2025

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More than 1,000 feared dead in Sudan landslide, rebel group says

More than 1,000 people are feared dead after a landslide in a village in western Sudan, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM) has said.

The rebel group said only one survivor was found, and that the village in the Marrah Mountains area, in the Darfur region, was destroyed.

SLM leader Abdelwahid Mohamed Nour said in a statement that the landslide struck on Sunday, 31 August, after days of heavy rainfall.

He appealed to the United Nations and international aid agencies for help in recovering the bodies.

The SLM controls the area located in the Darfur region in western Sudan.

Fleeing the civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), residents had sought shelter in the Marrah Mountains area, where food and medication are insufficient.

In January, the US determined that the RSF and its militias were committing genocide in Sudan.

The RSF rejected the claim and said: “America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong.”

The RSF has been fighting Sudan’s army for territorial control of the country since war erupted in the capital, Khartoum, in April 2023.

The ensuing devastation has been described as the worst humanitarian crisis ever recorded – with over 11 million people forced out of their homes, tens of thousands dead, and 30 million in need of humanitarian assistance.

Minni Minnawi, leader of a faction of the group, said in March last year that 1,500 troops would support the Sudanese army in the civil war against the RSF, according to the Sudan Tribune.