Rwanda deportation lawful: UK Judges

High Court backs government’s plan to relocate asylum seekers to Rwanda

Judges in London yesterday ruled that the UK government’s controversial plan to deport failed asylum seekers to Rwanda was lawful, after a legal challenge by migrants and campaigners.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson brought in the proposal to try to tackle record numbers of migrants crossing the Channel from northern France by small boats.

But it triggered a wave of protests from rights groups and charities, and last-gasp legal challenges successfully blocked the first deportation flights in June.

Several individuals who arrived in small boats and organisations supporting migrants brought a case at the High Court in London for a judicial review of the policy, claiming it is unlawful.

The judges acknowledged that the issue had stirred public debate but said its only remit was “to ensure that the law is properly understood and observed, and that the rights guaranteed by parliament are respected”.

The judges however said Interior Minister Suella Braverman had not properly considered the circumstances of the eight claimants in the case and referred their cases back to her.

More than 43,000 migrants have crossed the Channel this year in small boats, heaping pressure on social services to accommodate them while their asylum claims are processed.

Johnson’s short-lived successor Liz Truss and the incumbent Rishi Sunak have backed the Rwanda deal, which aims to send anyone deemed to have entered the UK illegally since January 1 to the African nation.

‘Dark moment’

Sunak and Braverman have both said that urgent action is needed to prevent further tragedies on the Channel, after four people died last week when their boat capsized in freezing waters.

Rwanda and Braverman welcomed the ruling. “We have always maintained that this policy is lawful and today the court has upheld this,” the minister said.

But charities involved said they were disappointed.

Josie Naughton, chief executive of the refugee charity Choose Love, called it a “dark moment for upholding human rights in the UK”.