Tory MP fails in ‘fascistic’ bid to ignore human rights rulings and start Rwanda deportations
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to the deaths of four migrants in the Channel today and said if Mr Gullis had “any sense of compassion” he would have withdrawn the bill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.”
Jonathan Gullis MP
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.
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‘I was restrained in my seat’ on Rwanda flight
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.
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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