Court rules government’s Rwanda deportation plan lawful
A government plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is lawful, the High Court has ruled.
Lord Justice Lewis said the controversial policy, introduced under Boris Johnson, was “consistent with the refugee convention”.
However, he said the home secretary should look at people’s “particular circumstances” before deporting them to the central African country.
Politics live: Health secretary says he is keen to talk to unions
The senior judge ruled the first people who were set to be sent to Rwanda had not had their circumstances “properly considered” by the person then in post, Priti Patel.
And as a result, their cases would be referred back to the current home secretary, Suella Braverman, “for her to consider afresh”.
Ms Braverman – who will give a statement on the judgment to the Commons later, welcomed the decision, saying the “ground-breaking” agreement with Rwanda would “provide individuals relocated with support to build new lives there, while disrupting the business model of people smuggling gangs putting lives at risk through dangerous and illegal small boat crossings”.
And Ms Patel also praised the ruling, adding: “No single policy will stop the Channel crossings, but this important policy will save lives, help break the business model of the criminal gangs & prevent asylum abuse.”
However, charities and campaign groups vowed to challenge the decision to ensure “people are treated with dignity and respect”.
The government announced its Rwanda policy back in April, which would see some asylum seekers who had reached the UK via small boat Channel crossings deported to the country to have their cases processed.
Ms Patel said it would help deter people from making the dangerous journey, but human rights campaigners, charities and opposition parties condemned the plan as inhumane.
The first flight was set to take off in June with four people on board, but was halted after a number of legal challenges and the European Court of Human Rights ruling the plan carried “a real risk of irreversible harm”.
However, both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss insisted they would push ahead with the policy when they took the keys to Number 10.
‘Particular circumstances’
Eight people brought their cases to the High Court to fight against the decision to send them to Rwanda, giving the UK’s most senior judges the opportunity to rule on the overall policy, as well as the individuals.
Their lawyers argued the plans were unlawful and that Rwanda “tortures and murders those it considers to be its opponents”.
But representatives from the Home Office argued the agreement between the UK and the country provided assurances that everyone sent there would have a “safe and effective” refugee status determination procedure.
In a summary of his ruling on Monday, Lord Justice Lewis said: “The court has concluded that it is lawful for the government to make arrangements for relocating asylum seekers to Rwanda and for their asylum claims to be determined in Rwanda rather than in the United Kingdom.
“On the evidence before this court, the government has made arrangements with the government of Rwanda which are intended to ensure that the asylum claims of people relocated to Rwanda are properly determined in Rwanda.”
However, he added: “The home secretary must consider properly the circumstances of each individual claimant. The home secretary must decide if there is anything about each person’s particular circumstances which means that his asylum claim should be determined in the United Kingdom or whether there are other reasons why he should not be relocated to Rwanda.
“The home secretary has not properly considered the circumstances of the eight individual claimants whose cases we have considered.
“For that reason, the decisions in those cases will be set aside and their cases will be referred back to the home secretary for her to consider afresh.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Boris Johnson announced the Rwanda plan back in April when he was prime minister.
The chief executive of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, said he was “disappointed” by the overall ruling, saying it would “damage the UK’s reputation as a country that values human rights”.
He added: “Treating people who are in search of safety like human cargo and shipping them off to another country is a cruel policy that will cause great human suffering.
“The scheme is wrong in principle and unworkable in practice.”
The chief executive of migrant charity Choose Love, Josie Naughton, also said the decision by the court “flies in the face of international commitments and accountability”.
She added it would “tear apart families, prolong persecution and put victims of torture and trauma in danger once again”.
‘Safety and opportunity’
Labour’s shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, did not argue against the decision, but called the Rwanda scheme “unworkable, unethical [and] extortionately expensive”, adding it was “a damaging distraction from the urgent action the government should be taking to go after the criminal gangs and sort out the asylum system”.
The Liberal Democrats echoed the sentiment, with MP Alistair Carmichael saying it was “immoral, ineffective and incredibly costly for taxpayers”.
He added: “It will do nothing to stop dangerous Channel crossings or combat people smuggling and human trafficking; instead it will give criminal gangs more power and profits.”
But it was welcomed by the Rwandan government, with spokeswoman Yolande Makolo saying: “We welcome this decision and stand ready to offer asylum seekers and migrants safety and the opportunity to build a new life in Rwanda.
“This is a positive step in our quest to contribute innovative, long-term solutions to the global migration crisis.”
Lord Justice Lewis said a further hearing would take place in mid-January to handle the consequences of the judgment, including costs and applications to go to the Court of Appeal.
Britain will not lower its standards or water down regulation in exchange for a trade deal with the US, the chancellor has confirmed.
Rachel Reeves was speaking ahead of a pivotal meeting with her American counterpart in Washington DC.
In an interview with Sky News, Ms Reeves said she was “confident” that a deal would be reached but said she had red lines on food and car standards, adding that changes to online safety were “non-negotiable for the British government”.
The comments mark the firmest commitment to a slew of rules and regulations that have long been a gripe for the Americans.
Rachel Reeves spoke to Sky’s Gurpreet Narwan
Money blog: Private UK island loved by Rihanna and Stormzy for sale
The US administration is pushing for the UK to relax rules on agricultural exports, including hormone-treated beef.
While Britain could lower tariffs on some agricultural products that meet regulations, ministers have been clear that it will not lower its standards.
However, the government has been less firm with its stance on online safety.
A tech red line
The US tech industry has fiercely opposed Britain’s Online Safety Act, which was introduced in 2023 and requires tech companies to shield children from harmful content online.
In an earlier draft UK-US trade deal, the British government was considering a review of the bill in the hope of swerving US tariffs.
However, the chancellor suggested that this was no longer on the table.
“On food standards, we’ve always been really clear that we’re not going to be watering down standards in the UK and similarly, we’ve just passed the Online Safety Act and the safety, particularly of our children, is non-negotiable for the British government,” she said.
She added that Britain was “not going to water down areas of road safety”, a move that could pave the way for American SUVs that have been engineered to protect passengers but not pedestrians.
While non-tariff barriers will remain intact, it was reported on Tuesday night that the UK could lower its automotive tariff from 10% to 2.5%.
The calculations behind Reeves’s red lines
What can Britain offer the Americans if it’s not prepared to lower its standards?
Donald Trump has previously described non-tariff barriers that block US exporters as “cheating”.
Britain does have some scope to bring down tariff rates – and Rachel Reeves suggested that this was her focus – but ours is already a highly open economy, we don’t have huge scope to cut tariff rates.
The real prize for the Americans is in the realm of these non-tariff barriers.
There has been much speculation about what the UK could offer up, but the chancellor on Wednesday gave a comprehensive commitment that she would not dilute standards.
There are many who will breathe a collective sigh of relief – from UK farmers to road safety campaigners and parents of young children.
While the government is sensitive to any potential public backlash, it also has another factor to think about.
When Ms Reeves arrives back home, she will begin preparations for a UK-EU summit in London next month.
The UK’s food and road safety standards are, in many areas, in sync with Europe, and Britain is seeking even deeper integration.
Lowering standards for the Americans would make that deeper alignment with the Europeans impossible.
The chancellor has to decide which market is more valuable to Britain.
The answer is Europe.
Back at home, the chancellor suggested that she was still open to relaxing rules on the City of London, even though global financial markets have endured a period of turmoil, triggered by President Trump’s trade war.
Reforms at home?
In her Mansion House speech last November, the chancellor said post-2008 reforms had “gone too far” and set the course for deregulating the City.
Asked if that was a wise move in light of the recent sharp swings in the financial markets, Ms Reeves said: “I want regulators to regulate not just for risk but also for growth.
“We are making reforms and we have set out new remit letters to our financial services regulators.”
Britain’s borrowing costs hit their highest level in almost 30 years after Mr Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs announcements, a stark reminder that policy decisions in the US have the power to raise UK bond yields and in turn, affect the chancellor’s budget, dent her already small fiscal headroom and derail her plans for tax and spend.
However, the chancellor said she would not consider adapting her fiscal rules, which include a promise to cover day-to-day spending with tax receipts, even if it gives her more room to manoeuvre in the face of volatility.
“Fiscal rules are non-negotiable for a simple reason, that Britain must offer under this government fiscal and financial stability, which is so important in a world of global uncertainty,” she said.
Robert Jenrick has vowed to “bring this coalition together” to ensure that Conservatives and Reform UK are no longer fighting each other for votes by the time of the next election, according to a leaked recording obtained by Sky News.
The shadow justice secretary told an event with students last month he would try “one way or another” to make sure Reform UK and the Tories do not compete at another general election and hand a second term in office to Keir Starmer in the process.
In the exclusive audio, Mr Jenrick can be heard telling the students he is still working hard to put Reform UK out of business – the position of the Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick. Pic: PA
However, more controversially, the comments also suggest he can envisage a time when that position may no longer be viable and has to change. He denies any suggestion this means he is advocating a Tory-Reform UK pact.
Follow the latest politics news here
The shadow justice secretary came second to Mrs Badenoch in the last leadership contest and is the bookies’ favourite to replace her as the next Conservative leader.
Robert Jenrick lost the Tory leadership contest to Kemi Badenoch. Pic: PA
Speaking to the UCL Conservative association dinner in late March, he can be heard saying: “[Reform UK] continues to do well in the polls. And my worry is that they become a kind of permanent or semi-permanent fixture on the British political scene. And if that is the case, and I say, I am trying to do everything I can to stop that being the case, then life becomes a lot harder for us, because the right is not united.
“And then you head towards the general election, where the nightmare scenario is that Keir Starmer sails in through the middle as a result of the two parties being disunited. I don’t know about you, but I’m not prepared for that to happen.
“I want the fight to be united. And so, one way or another, I’m determined to do that and to bring this coalition together and make sure we unite as a nation as well.”
This is the furthest a member of the shadow cabinet has gone in suggesting that they think the approach to Reform UK may evolve before the next general election.
Last night, Mr Jenrick denied this meant he was advocating a pact with Reform UK.
Read more:
Badenoch dismisses ‘threat’ from Jenrick
Your ultimate guide to the local elections
A source close to Mr Jenrick said: “Rob’s comments are about voters and not parties. He’s clear we have to put Reform out of business and make the Conservatives the natural home for all those on the right, rebuilding the coalition of voters we had in 2019 and can have again. But he’s under no illusions how difficult that is – we have to prove over time we’ve changed and can be trusted again.”
Mrs Badenoch has said in interviews that she cannot see any circumstances that the Tories under her leadership would do a deal with Reform UK.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Pic: PA
In next week’s local elections, Reform UK will compete directly against the Tories in a series of contests from Kent to Lincolnshire. At last year’s general election, in more than 170 of the 251 constituencies lost by the Conservatives the Reform vote was greater than the margin of the Tories’ defeat.
Today’s YouGov/Sky voting intention figures put Reform UK in front on 25%, Labour on 23% and the Conservatives on 20%, with the Lib Dems on 16% and Greens on 10%.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway