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Ministers will be allowed to block judges from stopping deportation flights in some situations under plans to toughen the illegal migration bill, Sky News understands.

Rishi Sunak has reached a deal with a group of right-wing Tory MPs who had threatened to rebel if the prime minister did not harden the controversial legislation.

It is expected that a new amendment will be introduced allowing ministers to ignore interim injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights that attempt to stop a deportation flight – known as Rule 39 orders.

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Another amendment is expected to say British courts are only able to stop deportations which could cause “serious or irreversible harm”.

A government source told Sky News: “It’s a discretion to opt out on rule 39 orders – still needs final sign off.

“Rule 39 is the interim order used by Strasbourg judges to block the Rwanda flight last year. It is not itself part of the ECHR. It’s a novel legal mechanism.”

Last June, the first deportation flight to Rwanda was grounded following an eleventh-hour intervention by the EHRC, and none have taken off since.

Since then some Tory MPs have been calling for the government to take the UK out of the EHRC altogether to push through tighter border measures.

But those on the more liberal wing of the party want to see more safe and legal routes to stop small boat crossings.

Another government amendment is expected to pledge to draw up plans for safe and legal routes within six months of bill becoming law – to appease MPs on left, a source told Sky News.

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The UNHCR says that the illegal migration bill would breach the UK’s obligations under the Refugee Convention and other laws.

However, a cross-bench peer has suggested the bill risks defeat in the Lords because of the plans to disregard Rule 39 orders.

Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, a former Lord Chief Justice said ignoring a ruling would be an “immensely serious step” and “sets an extraordinarily bad example”.

He told BBC Radio 4: “Many people would say having the power to ignore a court order is something – unless the circumstances were quite extraordinary – this is a step a government should never take because it is symbolic of a breach of the rule of law.”

The amendments are expected to be published on Thursday ahead of debates and votes next week.

The illegal migration bill is aimed at changing the law to make it clear people arriving in the UK illegally will not be able to remain in the country.

They will either be sent back to their home country or to a nation like Rwanda with which the UK has a deal, although legal challenges mean no flights carrying migrants have taken off for Kigali.

Read more:
Is there a safe and legal route to the UK?
Number of people who have migrated to UK since Rwanda deal was announced

But the plan has been shrouded in controversy, with critics including the UN Refugee Agency warning the proposed legislation leaves the UK falling short of its international obligations, and opposition parties dismissing it as unworkable.

However, Conservatives on the right of the party say it does not go far enough.

The compromise comes after Mr Sunak failed to guarantee he could achieve his plan to “stop the boats” by the next election and said it “won’t happen overnight”.

He had pledged to “stop the boats” as one of the five main priorities of his leadership.

But asked in an interview with Conservative Home whether he was confident he could do that by the next election, the prime minister said: “I’ve always said this is not something that is easy; it is a complicated problem where there’s no single, simple solution that will fix it.”

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Who were the suspected gunmen in Bondi Beach terror attack?

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Who were the suspected gunmen in Bondi Beach terror attack?

A father and son have been identified as the suspected gunmen in the terror attack on a Jewish event in Bondi Beach which killed at least 15 people.

More than 1,000 people were celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on the beach on Sunday evening when two people opened fire on them.

Those killed in the attack range from 10 years of age to 87, including a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor, while 38 others have been injured.

One of the alleged gunmen has been named by New South Wales (NSW) police as 24-year-old Naveed Akram, while the other has been identified as his 50-year-old father Sajid Akram.

How did they carry out the attack?

Footage shows the gunmen start firing into the crowd from a footbridge that leads over a car park to the beach.

Sky News has identified from the footage that the younger gunman was using a rifle, while the older one was using a semi-automatic shotgun.

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What’s been said about the gunmen

Police commissioner Mal Lanyon said officers searched two properties in connection with the suspects and found that the father had six firearms licenced to him.

Follow live: 15 people and gunman killed in shooting

He said they were confident that those firearms were the six found at the scene of the shooting.

More footage from the scene showed that a man, later identified as 43-year-old fruit shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed, tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen, believed to be the father Sajid, before pointing his own weapon at him, which was empty.

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Moment ‘hero’ disarmed gunman

The footage then showed the disarmed gunman running towards where the other gunman was located. Mr Ahmed was shot twice in the incident and required surgery, his family said.

The shooting is estimated to have gone on for roughly 10 minutes from 6.47pm. Eventually, the police took down the gunmen 75 seconds apart on the bridge.

Read more:
The victims of Bondi terror attack
Eyewitness accounts of ‘utter panic and chaos’

The father was killed at the scene by police, while the son was shot and wounded.

He is being treated at a hospital, according to police. Mr Lanyon said he “may well” face criminal charges.

In an update on Monday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC that the suspect was in a coma.

He also said there were a range of IEDs and “explosive devices” in their car that they intended to use to “cause further damage”.

What do we know about their backgrounds?

Sajid Akram arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa and transferred to a partner visa three years later, before becoming a permanent resident, according to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. Officials have not disclosed what country he migrated from.

He had his gun licence for approximately a decade and held a gun club membership, Mr Lanyon said.

The younger suspect was an Australian-born citizen who first came to the attention of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) in October 2019, Mr Albanese told reporters.

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Younger gunman was part of 2019 ‘investigation’

“He was examined on the basis of being associated with others and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Albanese said the suspect was investigated for six months over his connections to two people who later went to jail, one man for planning terror attacks.

He said he was not put on a watch list because the investigation uncovered no evidence that he was planning or considering any act of antisemitic violence.

Neither the father nor son have been on the ASIO’s radar since the 7 October Hamas attacks, he added.

What do we know about the motives?

New South Wales Police designated the attack a terrorist incident, and Mr Lanyon said a “significant investigation” would be led by counterterrorism and that “no stone will be left unturned”.

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Community mourns after attack

“When I asked for calm, that is really important,” he said. “This is not a time for retribution. This is a time to allow the police to do their duty. So police are responding to make sure that all of the community is safe.”

Mr Albanese called the massacre an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation.

On Monday, he said the attackers were “two evil people… driven by ideology” whose actions were the result of an “extreme perversion of Islam”.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said after the attack: “This attack was designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah. What should have been a night of peace and joy celebrated in that community with families and supporters has been shattered by this horrifying, evil attack.”

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Briton Jimmy Lai found guilty of national security offences in Hong Kong

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Briton Jimmy Lai found guilty of national security offences in Hong Kong

Pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of national security offences in Hong Kong.

The media tycoon and British citizen, 78, was arrested in August 2020 after China imposed a national security law following massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

Sky News’ Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith, who is at West Kowloon Law Courts Building, said Mr Lai looked “drawn and thin” as he listened to the verdict being delivered.

He had previously been sentenced for several lesser offences during his five years in prison.

Mr Lai, who founded the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security, as well as one count of conspiracy to distribute seditious publications.

He has been found guilty of all three charges.

His trial, heard by three judges approved by the government without a jury present, has been closely monitored by the UK, the US, the European Union and political observers as a barometer of media freedom and judicial independence in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

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Mr Lai has spent more than 1,800 days in solitary confinement. His family say his health has worsened as a result and that he suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart palpitations.

In August, Mr Lai’s son, Sebastien, told Sky News that unless the British government (of which Mr Lai is a citizen) intervenes, his father “is most likely going to die in jail”.

Lai arriving at court in 2020. Pic: AP
Image:
Lai arriving at court in 2020. Pic: AP


Sebastien said his father’s death would not just be a personal tragedy, but a huge problem for both the Hong Kong authorities and Beijing’s government.

“You can’t tell the world you have the rule of law, the free press and all these values that are instrumental to a financial centre and still have my father in jail,” he told Sky News.

“And if he dies, that’s it, that’s a comma on Hong Kong as a financial centre.”

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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Hero who tackled and disarmed Bondi Beach gunman is Sydney fruit shop owner

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Hero who tackled and disarmed Bondi Beach gunman is Sydney fruit shop owner

A bystander hailed a hero after he tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen in the Bondi Beach shooting is a shop owner.

The man, named by a relative as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, was seen in a video running up to the attacker from behind and then grabbing the shotgun from his hands before pointing the weapon back at him.

The footage then showed the terrorist heading towards a bridge where another gunman was located, while the bystander placed the gun beside a tree.

Ahmed al Ahmed (in a white T-shirt) is seen in a video running up to a gunman from behind
Image:
Ahmed al Ahmed (in a white T-shirt) is seen in a video running up to a gunman from behind

Mr Ahmed then wrestles with the attacker
Image:
Mr Ahmed then wrestles with the attacker

Live updates on Sydney shooting

Mr Ahmed, who was wearing a white T-shirt, was shot twice in the incident and was due to have surgery, his cousin, Mustafa, has revealed.

In a video on 7News, Mr Ahmed appeared to have a bloodied arm and hand, and was helped by other people near the scene in the Australian city.

At least 11 people were killed and 29 others injured in the attack when two gunmen opened fire from a bridge on crowds at a Jewish event around 6pm local time on Sunday evening.

More than 1,000 people had been at the gathering which was celebrating the festival of Hanukkah.

Mr Ahmed manages to get the gun off the terrorist
Image:
Mr Ahmed manages to get the gun off the terrorist

The bystander then points the weapon at the attacker who moves away towards a bridge
Image:
The bystander then points the weapon at the attacker who moves away towards a bridge

A gunman was killed and another was in a critical condition following the shooting.

One of the suspects was 24-year-old Naveed Akram.

His driver’s licence says he lives in Bonnyrigg, a suburb of Sydney. The identity of the other suspected attacker is not known.

Naveed Akram, 24, was one of the suspects
Image:
Naveed Akram, 24, was one of the suspects

Mustafa said father-of-two Mr Ahmed, who owns a fruit shop in the Sydney suburb of Sutherland, did not have any experience with guns but was just walking past when he decided to step in.

He told 7News: “He’s in hospital and we don’t know exactly what’s going on inside.

“We do hope he will be fine. He’s a hero, 100%.”

Read more:
What we know about mass shooting

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One of the suspected gunmen has been named as 24-year-old Naveed Akram.

The footage of the bystander’s actions spread quickly on social media as people praised the man for his bravery, saying his actions had potentially saved many lives.

“Australian hero (random civilian) wrestles gun off attacker and disarms him. Some people are brave and then some people are… whatever this is,” one person said on X, sharing the video.

“This Australian man saved countless lives by stripping the gun off one of the terrorists at Bondi beach. HERO,” another said.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales state, where Sydney is located, said it was the “most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen”.

“A man walking up to a gunman who had fired on the community and single-handedly disarming him, putting his own life at risk to save the lives of countless other people.”

“That man is a genuine hero, and I’ve got no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery,” he added.

The country’s prime minister Anthony Albanese praised the actions of Australians who had “run towards danger in order to help others”.

“These Australians are heroes and their bravery has saved lives,” he told a news conference.

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