Government will do ‘whatever it takes’ to implement Rwanda deportation plan, says immigration minister
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.
Suella Braverman during a tour of a migrant housing facility in Rwanda in March
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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.
A police officer who was driving a van that followed two teenagers shortly before they died in an e-bike crash will not be prosecuted.
The deaths of Harvey Evans, 15, and Kyrees Sullivan, 16, sparked riots in the Ely area of Cardiff in May 2023.
The officer was facing a dangerous driving allegation but prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.
A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) statement said: “We fully understand that this will be disappointing news for the families of both boys and will offer a meeting with them to explain our reasoning further.”
Rumours on social media that the teenagers were being pursued by police were initially denied.
South Wales Police said none of its vehicles were in Snowden Road at the time of the crash.
But police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) later confirmed it was investigating after video appeared to show them being followed by a van – without blue lights or a siren – minutes before the incident.
Other footage, however, showed the van turn off and it wasn’t following the boys at the time of the collision.
A key factor under consideration was whether there was any point at which the actions of the officers in the van “constituted a pursuit”.
CCTV showed a police van following the bike moments before it crashed
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Timeline of events before fatal Cardiff crash
The driver and passenger of the marked police van were previously issued with gross misconduct notices.
A second investigation was also opened by the IOPC into issues including police management of the crash scene and treatment of the families.
Riots broke out in the Ely area after the boys’ death. Pic: PA
Pic: PA
A riot of several hours broke out after the boys’ deaths, with cars set alight and fireworks and other missiles thrown at police.
Eleven officers needed hospital treatment and 31 people were eventually charged.
The decision not to charge the police officer driving the van can be challenged under the victims’ right of review scheme.
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