Rishi: We’ll quit European court if our Rwanda plan is blocked
RISHI Sunak has threatened to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if his Rwanda plan for migrants is blocked.
The Prime Minister insisted the UK’s border security and control of illegal migration is ‘ more important than our membership of any foreign court’.
In an interview last night, he said he believed the Rwanda plan is ‘compliant with all of our international obligations, including the ECHR’.
But he added: ‘I do believe that border security and making sure that we can control illegal migration is more important than membership of a foreign court because it’s fundamental to our sovereignty as a country.’
The European Court of Human Rights is the ultimate arbiter of the convention.
Mr Sunak sidestepped a question on whether he would pledge to leave the ECHR in the Tory election manifesto — nor did he confirm whether he had a contract with a carrier to take people to Rwanda.
But speaking to The Sun newspaper’s Never Mind the Ballots show, he said: ‘I can operationalise the policy as we’ve said, but the question you should be asking is: is this an issue that needs fixing? Well,
‘Those are my values’
I agree that it is and actually those are my values.
‘The election, there will be a clear choice on this issue. I’ve got a plan that I’m working towards, and the alternative is — I know you had Keir Starmer on here the other day — I have not seen an alternative to our plan.
‘So yes, I know people will have criticisms. I know people want to snipe from the sidelines. But the question is, what is the alternative to our plan?’
Mr Sunak also repeated that his ‘working assumption’ is to hold the general election ‘in the second half of the year’ but insisted he has not decided on the date. He added: ‘But ultimately we have a longstanding tradition. It’s Prime Ministers that decide when we’re going to call an election and I haven’t decided because I’m busy focusing on the things that matter to people.’
In the interview, Mr Sunak was also asked why he wears his trousers up to two inches too short, to which he laughed: ‘ Well I don’t think they are that short.’
He added: ‘I tend not to like lots of baggy, baggy stuff at the bottom of my ankle.’
The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill – the legislation which aims to get the flights off the ground – remains tied up in Parliament after peers inflicted a series of defeats against the Government before the Easter break.
Ministers did not seek to rush it back to the Commons ahead of the recess and it will now be considered by MPs when Parliament resumes on April 15, with the Commons likely to undo the latest changes made by the Lords and send it back to the Upper Chamber.
It comes as new rules requiring businesses to pay overseas workers on a Skilled Worker visa significantly more come into force today.
In a bid to clamp down on cheap foreign labour, the earning threshold for overseas workers has jumped from £26,200 to £38,700.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said: ‘It’s time to turn off the taps and end the flow of cheap workers from abroad. Mass migration is unsustainable and it’s simply not fair.
‘It undercuts the wages of hardworking people who are just trying to make ends meet.
‘ We are refocusing our immigration system to prioritise the brightest and best who have the skills our economy needs, while reducing overall numbers.
‘I promised the British people an immigration system that serves their interests, and to bring numbers down – these tough measures deliver on that commitment. Employers must also play their part and put British workers first.’
‘End flow of cheap foreign workers’