British home secretary Priti Patel on Wednesday told the House of Commons the UK government is disappointed by the European Court of Human Rights’ intervention last night over the planned deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda.
However, Ms Patel said the court did not rule that the policy was illegal, adding the British courts approved the removals. The home secretary said the country’s ability to help asylum seekers has been undermined by people arriving in the country illegally.
Ms Patel said the UK and Rwanda have shown a way forward to dealing with the problem of immigration — and that she is saddened by how Rwanda has been “misrepresented” in coverage of this scheme.
Earlier, Ms Patel said preparation for the next deportation flight to Rwanda “begins now” after last-minute interventions by the European Court of Human Rights led to the cancellation of the initial flight.
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Ms Patel said she will “not be deterred from doing the right thing” as government sources confirmed to the PA news agency that all migrants were removed from the plane which was set to take off on Tuesday night.
The European Court of Human Rights confirmed it had granted an urgent interim measure in regards to an Iraqi national, and it is understood the court was considering a number of further requests.
PA understands that the appeals were considered by an out-of-hours judge on papers, overruling the UK rulings.
It is understood that, at the present time, there is not a route for the Home Office to appeal against the decision.
The European Court has indicated to the UK government that the Iraqi national should not be removed to Rwanda until three weeks after the delivery of the final domestic decision in his ongoing judicial review proceedings.
Ms Patel described the European Court of Human Rights intervention as “very surprising”, adding “many of those removed from this flight will be placed on the next”.
She said the Home Office legal team is reviewing “every decision made on this flight”, and that preparation for the next flight “begins now”.
Following the grounding of the flight on Tuesday night, Ms Patel said: “Earlier this year, I signed a world-leading Migration Partnership with Rwanda to see those arriving dangerously, illegally, or unnecessarily into the UK relocated to build their lives there.
“This will help break the people smugglers’ business model and prevent loss of life, while ensuring protection for the genuinely vulnerable. Access to the UK’s asylum system must be based on need, not on the ability to pay people smugglers.
“The demands on the current system, the cost to the taxpayer, and the flagrant abuses are increasing, and the British public have rightly had enough,” she said.
“I have always said this policy will not be easy to deliver and am disappointed that legal challenge and last-minute claims have meant today’s flight was unable to depart.
“It is very surprising that the European Court of Human Rights has intervened despite repeated earlier success in our domestic courts.
“These repeated legal barriers are similar to those we experience with other removals flights and many of those removed from this flight will be placed on the next. We will not be deterred from doing the right thing and delivering our plans to control our nation’s borders,” Ms Patel said.
A Rwandan government spokeswoman said: “We are not deterred by these developments. “Rwanda remains fully committed to making this partnership work.
Earlier, British prime minister Boris Johnson suggested lawyers representing migrants were “abetting the work of criminal gangs” as last-ditch court hearings took place. — PA