Rishi on the fence over Strasbourg ‘veto’ on Rwanda

PM won’t say if he will ignore court

RISHI Sunak yesterday refused to say what he will do if judges in Strasbourg again try to block deportation flights to Rwanda.

The Prime Minister declined to state explicitly that he would over-ride socalled ‘Rule 39 orders’ issued by the European Court of Human Rights.

But he repeated his insistence that he would not let a ‘foreign court block our ability to remove people safely to Rwanda’, as he was pressed during a BBC interview.

The PM also confirmed that as chancellor he approached the Rwanda scheme from a ‘position of scepticism’, following reports that leaked Downing Street documents showed he was unconvinced by the plan.

Mr Sunak told BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that he had simply been performing his duty to ensure the proposals were value for money for the taxpayer.

It comes as the he prepares for a battle with factions of his own party over the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which is expected to return to the Commons this week.

Right-wing and liberal Conservative backbenchers are at odds over the proposed legislation which seeks to address the Supreme Court’s worries about the Rwanda scheme. Judges declared the policy unlawful in November.

But Mr Sunak hopes the legislation – and a new treaty with Rwanda – will finally allow removals flights to take off by the spring as a key deterrent in the Channel small boats crisis, which has just entered its sixth year.

The Bill says that only ministers – and not the courts – can decide whether the UK will comply with Strasbourg’s Rule 39 orders, a type of injunction which prevented the Government’s first attempt at a Rwanda removals flight in June 2022.

But it has been reported that Attorney General Victoria Prentis, the Government’s senior law officer, may insist that Rule 39s are legally binding – despite the new measures – and that ignoring Strasbourg would be a breach of international law.

Asked if he would ignore interventions by European judges, Mr Sunak said: ‘I’ve been very clear about this – I won’t let a foreign court stop our ability to remove people once we have been through our process in Parliament and the courts system.

‘The legislation is crystal clear it’s for a minister to decide.’

Asked again if he would intervene, the PM said: ‘I can’t give a blanket answer to that question but the legislation we are passing is crystal clear that it is ministers who have the power to decide about Rule 39s.’

The PM was quizzed about internal government documents which showed that in March 2022 – just before the Rwanda scheme was announced – he said the ‘deterrent won’t work’ and expressed doubts about costs.

Mr Sunak said that as chancellor his job was to challenge ‘every proposal that crossed my desk’.

‘You should always approach things from a position of scepticism,’ he added.

‘To infer I don’t believe in the scheme or the principle of deterrence is wrong.’