NOTHING WILL STAND IN OUR WAY!

Little Rishi talks tough over Rwanda flights

RISHI Sunak vowed to let nothing “stand in our way” as he gears up to send Channel migrants to Rwanda within weeks after his deportation plan was finally passed by Parliament.

The first asylum seekers are expected to be rounded up and detained within days after a political tussle over the controversial law finally ended in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The House of Lords had been engaged in an extended tussle over the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill on Monday, sending it back to the Commons five times in a bid to secure changes.

But they relented just after midnight, paving the way for it to become law and allow delayed flights to start in July, in a move Tories hope will boost the party’s hopes of being re-elected later this year.

But the news did not appear to have filtered across the Channel, with more migrant boats filmed leaving the French coast near Dunkirk yesterday morning, heading for the UK.

Focus

In a statement yesterday, the PM, who is in Poland, said: “The passing of this legislation will allow us to do that and make it very clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay.

“Our focus is to now get flights off the ground, and I am clear that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives.”

The usual suspects have lined up to blast the plan.

Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, said: “The new legislation marks a further step away from the UK’s long tradition of providing refuge to those in need, in breach of the Refugee Convention.

“Protecting refugees requires all countries – not just those neighbouring crisis zones – to uphold their obligations. This arrangement seeks to shift responsibility for refugee protection, undermining international cooperation and setting a worrying global precedent.”

Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, added: “By shifting responsibility for refugees, reducing the UK courts’ ability to scrutinise removal decisions, restricting access to legal remedies in the UK and limiting the scope of domestic and international human rights protections for a specific group of people, this new legislation seriously hinders the rule of law in the UK and sets a perilous precedent globally.

Critical

“It is critical to the protection of the human rights and dignity of refugees and migrants seeking protection that all removals from the UK are carried out after assessing their specific individual circumstances in strict compliance with international human rights and refugee law.”