FIGHTING BACK
Rishi slams court ruling that Rwanda plan is ‘unlawful’ & will appeal as Suella says ‘system is rigged against Brits’
RISHI Sunak today vowed to take on leftie lawyers in the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal ruled Rwanda deportations unlawful.
The PM slammed judges for deeming Rwanda to be "unsafe", while Home Secretary Suella Braverman declared the "system is rigged against the British people".
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Mr Sunak said: "While I respect the court I fundamentally disagree with their conclusions."
He argued the Rwandan government has "provided the assurances necessary to ensure there is no real risk that asylum-seekers... would be wrongly returned to third countries".
Ministers will now seek permission to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court - the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases.
"The policy of this government is very simple," a defiant Mr Sunak said.
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"It is this country – and your government – who should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs.
"And I will do whatever is necessary to make that happen."
In a major blow to the Home Office, three senior Court of Appeal judges determined Rwanda isn't a safe third country.
Judge Ian Burnett said the majority found "the deficiencies in the asylum system in Rwanda are such that there are substantial grounds for believing that there is a real risk that persons sent to Rwanda will be returned to their home countries where they face persecution and other inhumane treatment".
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The Lord Chief Justice disagreed that Rwanda is unsafe.
Ms Braverman this afternoon said she's "fully committed" to deportation flights.
"The British people want to stop the boats, and so does this Government," she said.
"That's what I am determined to deliver and I won't take a backward step from that."
Ms Braverman added: "The system is rigged against the British people, it's as simple as that.
"It's why we're changing the laws through our Illegal Migration Bill, it's why we're rolling out a ground-breaking partnership with Rwanda which we believe is lawful, with a country which we believe is safe.
"So, we need to change the system, we need to change our laws, that's how we're going to stop the boats."
The Home Office was taken to court by charities and leftie lawyers desperate to stop deportations going ahead.
Defiant ministers have always insisted the flights will eventually take off.
The case is now expected to move on to the Supreme Court.
Responding to the decision, ex-cabinet minister Simon Clarke said: "This is a deeply disappointing ruling in the face of the clear will of Parliament.
"I would anticipate an immediate appeal to the Supreme Court. We have to be able to control our borders.
Analysis from The Sun's Political Correspondent, Jack Elsom
SUELLA Braverman famously said she “dreamed” of deportation flights taking off to Rwanda.
That dream was dealt a hefty blow today as a court ruled the scheme was unlawful because it risks the safety of the illegal migrants.
But it is far from a knock-out - with the government certain to escalate the case to Britain’s most senior judges in the Supreme Court.
That showdown will ultimately decide the fate of whether Rishi Sunak and ministers can pursue their ambitious policy central to their pledge to “stop the boats”.
Yes, today’s ruling makes the prospect of removals almost impossible to achieve this year - with doubts they could now happen before the next election.
Campaigners will declare victory after having their appeal about the safety of Rwanda upheld.
Yet Sunak and Braverman will take solace from the fact that the Court of Appeal both was split in its ruling, and that many other grounds for appeal were dismissed.
They also won in the High Court last year when the issue of safety was first challenged.
So the score in this bitter legal fight between ministers and campaigners is 1-1.
Both will fight tooth and nail to edge victory in the final showdown in the months to come.
Sunak is also confident he retains the support of another - that of public opinion.
He is confident voters back his radical plan to curb illegal migration - and has staked his premiership on it.
"If the ECHR continues to forestall this, we have to revisit the question of our membership."
The Rwandan government slammed the court's decision, confessing to "take issue" with the claim that the state is unsafe.
Yolande Makolo, Spokesperson for the Government of Rwanda: “Rwanda is one of the safest countries in the world and we have been recognised by the UNHCR and other international institutions for our exemplary treatment of refugees.
“Rwanda remains fully committed to making this partnership work.
"The broken global migration system is failing to protect the vulnerable, and empowering criminal smuggling gangs at an immeasurable human cost.
"When the migrants do arrive, we will welcome them and provide them with the support they’ll need to build new lives in Rwanda”.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman says the Rwanda scheme is key to the government's stop the boats mission.
It's believed the threat of deportation to the East African state will deter illegal migrants making the perilous journey across the channel.
Earlier this week, the Home Office admitted it could cost up to £169,000 per illegal migrant to send them to a third country.
But Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: “It costs money but it’s the right thing.”
His remarks came as the Government faced a first defeat in the Lords over its controversial Illegal Migration Bill.
Peers supported Labour-led changes to the law so it will uphold a string of European and UN refugee rules.
The flagship Bill would see anyone who arrives in Britain illegally banned from permanent settlement.
Small boat arrivals would instead be detained and swiftly removed to either their country of origin or a safe third state such as Rwanda.
Responding to today's court ruling, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Today’s judgment shows that Rishi Sunak has no plan to fix the Tories’ small boats chaos and his only idea is completely unravelling.
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“Time and again, ministers have gone for gimmicks instead of getting a grip, and slogans instead of solutions, while the Tory boats chaos has got worse.
"The Rwanda scheme is unworkable, unethical and extortionate, a costly and damaging distraction from the urgent action the government should be taking.”
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