Suella Braverman: My five-point plan to start flying to Rwanda

Ms Braverman's intervention will be seen as a call on MPs to support amendments to the government's emergency legislation Ms Braverman's intervention will be seen as a call on MPs to support amendments to the government's emergency legislation p>Rishi Sunak's plan to deport migrants to Rwanda will fail unless he scraps European human rights law, says Suella Braverman.

In his first article since sacking, the former home secretary attacks the prime minister approach and lays out his own five-point plan to end the impasse over deportation flights to Rwanda.

She warns that the prime minister's proposed new treaty with Rwanda and a law declaring it a safe country will prevent planes from taking off before the general election, calling it a «modified version» of the failed Plan A rather than an effective Plan B.

Ms Braverman is instead calling for new emergency legislation to block «all avenues of legal challenge» to the flights, removing them from «all» European and human rights law.

This will be accompanied by amendments to the agreement with Rwanda to address criticism from the Supreme Court, which on Wednesday ruled the policy illegal, new rules to speed up the deportation of migrants, stronger powers to detain illegal migrants and a commitment to make legal changes by the Christmas break.< /p>

“Under the current legal framework, there is no longer any chance of stopping the boats,” Ms. Braverman wrote. However, she adds: “Now is not the time to waste energy on dissecting how we got here. For those of us who believe in effective immigration control, how we move forward is important.

“It takes honesty. First of all, it demands that the government stop self-deception and propaganda. There should be no more magical thinking. Fixing a failed plan won't stop the boats.»

Her speech will be seen as a call on MPs to support the amendments likely to be introduced when the government introduces its emergency legislation later this month.

< p>On Thursday, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt admitted the Government could not guarantee migrant flights would begin next year, and new Home Secretary James Cleverley said «the timeframe we are looking at may vary depending on the circumstances» although he was «absolutely determined «to achieve this before the election.

Mr Sunak faces the bill being obstructed by the Lords, with his colleagues on Thursday calling it a «constitutional breach» and «deeply discreditable» and warning it would be «completely bogged down» in «constructive obstruction» and «perpetual ping-pong».

The prime minister's deal is expected to be published on Monday, with emergency legislation being passed a week later.

The legislation would declare Rwanda safe and prohibit anyone from filing a legal challenge to the policy altogether. . However, individual migrants will still be able to challenge deportation using human rights law and other domestic and international law.

The “fundamental” problem

Under a legally binding treaty that must be approved by parliament, Rwanda agrees not to deport anyone sent there by Britain. It aims to prevent deported migrants from being sent back to their home countries where they risk persecution, which is why the Supreme Court ruled the original plan was unsafe.

But Ms Braverman says the treaty and the new law will not responds to the «fundamental» problem identified by the Supreme Court, which is that Rwanda cannot be trusted to honor its obligations not to expel anyone.

«Attempting to provide flights to Rwanda under any new treaty would still will take it back through the courts, a process that will likely take at least another year,” she says.

“This process could end in another defeat, on new grounds or on the same grounds as in Wednesday, mainly that the judges cannot be sure that Rwanda will comply with the terms of any new treaty.

“Even if we win in domestic court, the saga will simply move to Strasbourg, where the European Court is in no hurry. decide whether he likes our laws.”