Government will do ‘whatever it takes’ to implement Rwanda deportation plan, says immigration minister

Published

2 years ago

November 14, 2023

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Robert Jenrick has vowed the government will do “whatever it takes” to implement its Rwanda deportation plan – following Suella Braverman’s sacking as home secretary.

The immigration minister – who kept his job in Monday’s dramatic reshuffle – said the government’s plan “must” go through, “no ifs, no buts”.

However, the policy faces a make-or-break decision on Wednesday when the Supreme Court will rule on whether the plans are lawful.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph during a visit to Bulgaria, just hours after Ms Braverman’s sacking, he said: “Be assured that as a prudent government, we have been thinking through what further steps we could take.

“I worked closely with the former home secretary on various options. But at the heart of this is the deep conviction that you have to inject deterrence into the system.

“We must ensure the Rwanda policy succeeds before the next general election. No ifs, no buts, we will do whatever it takes to ensure that happens.”

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Mr Jenrick did, however, concede that the government would struggle to achieve its goal of stopping small boat crossings in the English Channel if their plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda were deemed unlawful.

Asked whether the boats could be stopped without the Rwanda policy, Mr Jenrick replied: “No.”

The deal – signed by Ms Braverman’s predecessor Priti Patel, but later championed by the now former home secretary – would see some asylum seekers sent to Rwanda to claim asylum there.

Last month, the Home Office challenged a Court of Appeal ruling from June that the multimillion-pound deal was unlawful.

The Illegal Migration Act brought into law the government’s policy of sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda, but because of the legal wrangling, no deportation flights having taken place.

The first planned flight to Rwanda in June 2022 was grounded minutes before take-off following a ruling by a judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

As a result, Mr Jenrick has not removed the possibility of the UK’s exit from the European Convention on Human Rights – a move which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly refused to rule out.

Politics

UK, Australia, Germany, Italy and New Zealand condemn Israel’s plan for new operation in Gaza

Published

7 hours ago

August 9, 2025

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UK joins four countries in condemning Israel's plan for new operation in Gaza

The UK and four allies have criticised Israel’s decision to launch a new large-scale military operation in Gaza – warning it will “aggravate the catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the territory.

The foreign ministers of Britain, Australia, Germany, Italy and New Zealand said in a joint statement that the offensive will “endanger the lives of hostages” and “risk violating international humanitarian law”.

It comes a day after Israel’s security cabinet approved an operation to take military control of Gaza City – and concluded a full takeover of the enclave is required to end the conflict.

It marks another escalation in the war in Gaza, sparked by the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023.

In their joint statement, the UK and its allies said they “strongly reject” the decision, adding: “It will endanger the lives of the hostages and further risk the mass displacement of civilians.

“The plans that the government of Israel has announced risk violating international humanitarian law. Any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law.”

The countries also called for a permanent ceasefire as “the worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza”.

It comes as Sky News analysis has found that airdrops of aid are making little difference to Gaza’s hunger crisis, and pose serious risks to the population – with a father-of-two killed by a falling package.

Meanwhile, France, Canada, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations all criticised Israel’s plan for a full occupation of Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “expressed his disappointment” with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s in phone call on Friday after Berlin decided it would stop selling arms to Israel.

In a post on X, the Israeli prime minister’s office added: “Instead of supporting Israel’s just war against Hamas, which carried out the most horrific attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Germany is rewarding Hamas terrorism by embargoing arms to Israel.”

US ambassador hits out at Starmer

Earlier on Friday, the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, criticised Sir Keir Starmer after he said Israel’s decision to “escalate its offensive” in Gaza is “wrong”.

Mr Huckabee wrote on X: “So Israel is expected to surrender to Hamas & feed them even though Israeli hostages are being starved? Did UK surrender to Nazis and drop food to them? Ever heard of Dresden, PM Starmer? That wasn’t food you dropped. If you had been PM then UK would be speaking German!”

In another post around an hour later Mr Huckabee wrote: “How much food has Starmer and the UK sent to Gaza?

“@IsraeliPM has already sent 2 MILLION TONS into Gaza & none of it even getting to hostages.”

Sir Keir has pledged to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government meets a series of conditions towards ending the war in Gaza.

The UK and its allies criticised Israel as US President JD Vance and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy met at Chevening House in Kent on Friday.

Mr Vance described a “disagreement” about how the US and UK could achieve their “common objectives” in the Middle East, and said the Trump administration had “no plans to recognise a Palestinian state”.

He said: “I don’t know what it would mean to really recognise a Palestinian state given the lack of functional government there.”

Mr Vance added: “There’s a lot of common objectives here. There is some, I think, disagreement about how exactly to accomplish those common objectives, but look, it’s a tough situation.”

The UN Security Council will meet on Saturday to discuss the situation in the Middle East.

Ambassador Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, said earlier on Friday that a number of countries would be requesting a meeting of the UN Security Council on Israel’s plans.

Politics

BlackRock launching a SOL ETF in first wave would be ‘messed up’ — Analyst

Published

7 hours ago

August 9, 2025

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<div>BlackRock launching a SOL ETF in first wave would be 'messed up' — Analyst</div>

BlackRock hasn’t filed for a Solana ETF, but ETF analyst James Seyffart says they shouldn’t be allowed to jump in at the last minute after other issuers’ hard work.