Rwanda bill ‘fundamentally incompatible’ with human rights law, MPs and peers warn
The government’s Rwanda bill is “fundamentally incompatible” with human rights law, MPs and peers have warned.
A report from parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, published on Monday, said the proposed legislation “risks untold damage” to the UK’s reputation as an international leader on the issue.
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Rishi Sunak’s flagship policy to “stop the boats” would result in asylum seekers coming to the UK via Channel crossings being deported to the African nation.
But his plan has been dogged with delays and controversy, from splitting the Conservative Party over those who want to toughen or scale back the plan, to condemnation from charities and opposition parties.
It was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court at the end of last year. However, the government has been determined to push ahead, signing a new treaty with Rwanda and adjusting the legislation to define the nation as a “safe country”.
The bill has passed its first parliamentary stage in the House of Commons, but will be heading to the Lords this afternoon, where it is expected to face fierce criticism from peers.
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Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is one of many peers to speak out against the bill
In the committee report, the membership took particular issue with plans to limit appeals against deportations, saying it breached the UK’s legal obligations – most obviously Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the right to an effective remedy.
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They also attacked the move to allow ministers to decide whether or not to adhere to rulings of the European Court of Human Rights over deportations, saying the measure “openly invites the possibility of the UK breaching international law”.
And they said they were “not persuaded” parliament could be “confident” in naming Rwanda as a safe country, adding: “We consider that the courts are best placed to resolve such contested issues of fact.”
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Michael Gove on whether flights will take off to Rwanda
Chair of the joint committee, the SNP’s Joanna Cherry, said: “This bill is designed to remove vital safeguards against persecution and human rights abuses, including the fundamental right to access a court. Hostility to human rights is at its heart and no amendments can salvage it.
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“This isn’t just about the rights and wrongs of the Rwanda policy itself. By taking this approach, the bill risks untold damage to the UK’s reputation as a proponent of human rights internationally.
“Human rights aren’t inconvenient barriers that must be overcome to reach policy goals, they are fundamental protections that ensure individuals are not harmed by government action. If a policy is sound it should be able to withstand judicial scrutiny, not run away from it.”
But the government continues to stand by the bill, with a Home Office spokesperson saying: “We are committed to tackling this major global challenge with bold and innovative solutions, and the Rwanda scheme is doing just that.
“The bill we have introduced, and the treaty alongside it, are the best way of getting flights off to Rwanda as soon as possible.
“Rwanda is clearly a safe country that cares deeply about supporting refugees. It hosts more than 135,000 asylum seekers and stands ready to relocate people and help them rebuild their lives.”
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Politics
Norman Tebbit: Former Tory minister who served in Margaret Thatcher’s government dies aged 94
Norman Tebbit, the former Tory minister who served in Margaret Thatcher’s government, has died at the age of 94.
Lord Tebbit died “peacefully at home” late on Monday night, his son William confirmed.
One of Mrs Thatcher’s most loyal cabinet ministers, he was a leading political voice throughout the turbulent 1980s.
He held the posts of employment secretary, trade secretary, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Conservative party chairman before resigning as an MP in 1992 after his wife was left disabled by the Provisional IRA’s bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton.
He considered standing for the Conservative leadership after Mrs Thatcher’s resignation in 1990, but was committed to taking care of his wife.
Margaret Thatcher and Norman Tebbit in 1987 after her election victory. Pic: PA
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch called him an “icon” in British politics and was “one of the leading exponents of the philosophy we now know as Thatcherism”.
“But to many of us it was the stoicism and courage he showed in the face of terrorism, which inspired us as he rebuilt his political career after suffering terrible injuries in the Brighton bomb, and cared selflessly for his wife Margaret, who was gravely disabled in the bombing,” she wrote on X.
“He never buckled under pressure and he never compromised. Our nation has lost one of its very best today and I speak for all the Conservative family and beyond in recognising Lord Tebbit’s enormous intellect and profound sense of duty to his country.
“May he rest in peace.”
Lord Tebbit and his wife Margaret stand outside the Grand Hotel in Brighton. Pic: PA
Tory grandee David Davis told Sky News Lord Tebbit was a “great working class Tory, always ready to challenge establishment conventional wisdom for the bogus nonsense it often was”.
“He was one of Thatcher’s bravest and strongest lieutenants, and a great friend,” Sir David said.
“He had to deal with the agony that the IRA visited on him and his wife, and he did so with characteristic unflinching courage. He was a great man.”
Reform leader Nigel Farage said Lord Tebbit “gave me a lot of help in my early days as an MEP”.
He was “a great man. RIP,” he added.
Lord Tebbit as employment secretary in 1983 with Mrs Thatcher. Pic: PA
Born to working-class parents in north London, he was made a life peer in 1992, where he sat until he retired in 2022.
Lord Tebbit was trade secretary when he was injured in the Provisional IRA’s bombing in Brighton during the Conservative Party conference in 1984.
Five people died in the attack and Lord Tebbit’s wife, Margaret, was left paralysed from the neck down. She died in 2020 at the age of 86.
Before entering politics, his first job, aged 16, was at the Financial Times where he had his first experience of trade unions and vowed to “break the power of the closed shop”.
He then trained as a pilot with the RAF – at one point narrowly escaping from the burning cockpit of a Meteor 8 jet – before becoming the MP for Epping in 1970 then for Chingford in 1974.
Lord Tebbit during an EU debate in the House of Lords in 1997. Pic: PA
As a cabinet minister, he was responsible for legislation that weakened the powers of the trade unions and the closed shop, making him the political embodiment of the Thatcherite ideology that was in full swing.
His tough approach was put to the test when riots erupted in Brixton, south London, against the backdrop of high rates of unemployment and mistrust between the black community and the police.
He was frequently misquoted as having told the unemployed to “get on your bike”, and was often referred to as “Onyerbike” for some time afterwards.
What he actually said was he grew up in the ’30s with an unemployed father who did not riot, “he got on his bike and looked for work, and he kept looking till he found it”.
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