Why Sunak’s new promise after Rwanda ruling looks extremely hard to keep
It was the prime minister’s day in court today, and he really needed a win.
Instead, the linchpin of his immigration plan – to send asylum seekers to Rwanda – is not just loose but lost.
For a leader who has said, on repeat, that he will stop the boats, Rishi Sunak had little option after this almighty setback to double down on the plan.
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Sunak presses ahead with Rwanda plan
Appearing before the media after losing this case in the Supreme Court, Mr Sunak sounded determined and tough: Rwanda not safe for migrants? No matter – parliament will pass emergency laws to declare it safe and will disapply international law, such as the European Convention on Human Rights, when it comes to the government’s Rwanda policy.
And then there was this promise to voters: “Flights will be heading off in the spring as planned.”
It was tough talk and a clear plan but stop for a few minutes and you ask yourself: is this a prime minister on rinse and repeat, trying to change laws only to get bogged down, again?
First, if the Supreme Court says Rwanda isn’t a safe country, you can’t simply pass a law that says it is.
The prime minister might be able to push it through the Commons with his majority, but the House of Lords may well not want to vote to put anyone in harm’s way.
The suggestion by Mr Sunak that this is all straightforward is disingenuous to say the least.
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Beth Rigby on the Rwanda ruling
When I suggested to one government adviser that the prime minister might not be able to guarantee flights next spring given the legislative hoops he needs to jump through, they argued: “The Lords question is a question for Labour, not us – will they accept the will of parliament and the people that we must stop the boats?”
I suspect the answer to that will be a “no” and this will be neither a quick or easy process.
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Then there is the question of any domestic laws the prime minister does pass being challenged in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Read more:
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Explainer – how did the government policy end up in the courts?
Now, on that, the UK-Rwanda treaty might help, says former head government lawyer Jonathan Jones.
That’s because Strasbourg could issue an interim “rule 39” order to say the UK can’t allow flights to take off – as it did earlier this year – but it sounds like the prime minister would ignore it.
But what all of the above points to is that this is no quick fix and that matters politically, because the one big takeaway I heard from that media conference was that the flights will get off the ground next spring.
Those on the right of the party will be led by Suella Braverman agitating for the prime minister to withdraw from the ECHR now and get the flights going or face a new Tory civil war. The stakes could not be higher.
A prime minister’s announcement on next steps today raises more questions than it answers, while his new promise still, for now, looks extremely hard to keep.
When the history of the Sunak government is written, will “stop the boats” be remembered as an election-winning slogan or Mr Sunak’s political epitaph?
The FA has launched an investigation into allegations that suspended Premier League referee David Coote discussed giving a yellow card ahead of a match.
Mr Coote booked Leeds player Ezgjan Alioski during a match against West Brom in October 2019.
The Sun claims that the day before, he discussed carding the player with a Leeds fan he had met online, then after the game messaged him saying: “I hope you backed as discussed.”
Mr Coote insists nothing improper took place.
He said in a statement: “I strongly refute these false and defamatory allegations.
“Whatever issues I may have had in my personal life they have never affected my decision-making on the field.
“I have always held the integrity of the game in the highest regard, refereeing matches impartially and to the best of my ability.”
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The previous comments Coote made about Liverpool
An investigation has now been opened to get to the bottom of the claims surrounding the already-suspended referee.
Previously, a video emerged showing Mr Coote snorting a white powder.
That came after another video showed Mr Coote in a foul-mouthed rant about Liverpool FC and their then-boss Jurgen Klopp.
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After the most recent allegations, a spokesperson for Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) told Sky Sports News: “The facts need to be established in light of these very serious allegations.
“We adopt a zero-tolerance approach to any breach of our Integrity Code of Conduct, which is signed by all match officials on an annual basis.
“PGMOL Board is committed to taking the appropriate action should any breach of that Code be proven.
“David Coote remains suspended and subject to an ongoing disciplinary process by PGMOL, separate to the investigation into this matter which will be carried out independently by The FA.”
It added: “We will be making no further comment at this stage.”
Davina McCall has said she is feeling “stronger and stronger” every day after having brain tumour surgery.
In an update posted to Instagram, the TV presenter emphasised the importance of sleep during her recovery after having a benign brain tumour, known as a colloid cyst, removed.
Sporting a bruised left eye, McCall said she is being “brilliantly” looked after by her boyfriend, hairdresser Michael Douglas, and stepmum Gabby and is “just trying to sleep a lot” and “get better”.
Earlier this week, the star said she was suffering with short-term memory problems, due to the operation. But on Wednesday, she said that her memory is now “improving”.
“My short-term memory is really improving a lot every day,” she said, adding: “It has been an example to me of how much sleep helps me recover from everything.
Pic: Instagram/Davina McCall
“If I feel a bit confused or I’m struggling to concentrate, I just got to sleep, and I wake up just completely renewed and refreshed.
“I know that my brain needs lots of sleep.”
The 57-year-old ended the update by thanking fans for their “ongoing support”.
‘Out of the woods’
Speaking during a livestream on Tuesday, McCall’s partner Douglas said the star is “definitely out of the woods” during her recovery.
McCall with her partner Michael Douglas and her daughter Holly Robertson. Pic: PA
“She’s quite tired at the moment. She sleeps really well at night and goes to bed at 10pm and has a nap in the morning, and sleeps for two or three hours in the afternoon,” he said.
He added that the presenter is off work until mid-January and has “a lot of time to relax and recuperate”.
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Douglas told fans: “It’s been a very, very emotional and quite an incredible experience. We’re definitely out of the woods.”
McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.
She has lived with Douglas since 2022, and together they present a weekly lifestyle podcast called Making The Cut.
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