Robert Jenrick says the government will do 'whatever is necessary' to protect the UK's borders if the Rwanda plan is blocked. Photo: JULIAN SIMMONDS.
Cabinet Minister has hinted that the government will be ready to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if flights for deportation from Rwanda continue to be blocked by the courts.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said that the government will do “whatever is necessary” to protect Britain's borders if the Supreme Court rejects Rwanda's plan this fall. His comments on Wednesday morning came amid renewed speculation that senior Tories, including a cabinet minister, insist that the Conservatives enter the next election campaign with a promise to withdraw from the ECtHR, which could split the party.
< p>Deportation flights to Rwanda have been suspended since last June, when the European Court of Human Rights' (ECtHR) single judge issued an eleventh hour injunction blocking the first expulsion of asylum seekers to the Central African state.
< p>The Supreme Court must decide on the legality of flights after the Court of Appeal upheld the blocking on the grounds that the human rights of asylum seekers could be violated due to flaws in the plan.
Rishi Sunak has resisted calls to leave the ECtHR, although his illegal migration bill gives ministers the power to ignore future ECtHR injunctions, known as rule 39 rulings.
“We will do whatever it takes”
Speaking on Times Radio, Mr Jenrick said the government was confident it would win a hearing in the Supreme Court. “We think our arguments are strong and we are going to challenge them very vigorously,” he said.
Asked if the government would withdraw from the ECtHR if it lost the case, Mr Jenrick, a close ally of Mr Sunak, said: “In the end, we will do whatever is necessary to protect our borders and clean up the asylum system.”
When asked a second time, he replied: “We will do whatever is required, we will take whatever action is necessary. But I think I was trying to convey to you that we are absolutely confident that the agreements that we have concluded with Rwanda are consistent with our obligations under international law.
“And I am encouraged by the fact that the courts have so far generally agreed with this, and I hope that the Supreme Court will allow us to move forward in our partnership with Rwanda later this year, early next year.”
< His comments follow BBC reports that senior Conservatives, including a cabinet minister, say their party is likely to campaign to leave the ECtHR in the next election if flights to Rwanda continue. be blocked.
The government, however, stated that the UK will remain in the ECtHR. “The government has made it clear that it will abide by its obligations under international treaties,” a government spokesman said.
“As we stated earlier, we believe our Stop the Boats Bill will make the necessary changes. to reduce incentives for people to risk their lives by illegally crossing the border while remaining a party to the ECtHR.”
Off-menu accommodation
Mr Jenrik also said that a “significant” number of asylum seekers who objected to moving to the Bibby Stockholm barge have since changed their minds, as he warned that the “a la carte menu” with accommodation choices is not exists.
“We offer support to those people who say they are poor, who say they have absolutely no way to support themselves. This is a legal obligation of the government,” he told Times Radio.
“But we do it on a no-choice basis – we don’t have a menu of options where you can choose which hotel or place you prefer.
“These are the people who say they are poor and we must be fair to UK taxpayers in how we apply this policy. Therefore, if you do not decide to cooperate and move into the provided accommodation, we will, as we have said, consider withdrawing support for asylum.
“We have written to those individuals who have so far refused to travel and, like me I understand that a significant part of them have already changed their minds and agreed to move. A significant number of people moved yesterday, I suspect there will be more in the coming days.
“I think this issue will be resolved, but as I said, we are a generous country, we want to support people properly in a manner and in accordance with the law, but this is not an a la carte menu from which people can choose a particular hotel or place that suits them best.
“If you are poor, then you will settle for decent state housing can provide for you.”
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