The British prime minister has called for an end to a juridical “merry-go-round”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed on Wednesday to revive his trademark immigration policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda after the UK Supreme Court struck the measure down the same day.
Britain’s top court ruled that the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful due to Rwanda’s unsafe conditions for migrants.
During a press conference, which was organized following the unanimous rejection of the policy plan by five judges, Sunak stated, “We need to end the merry-go-round,” referring to immigration policy. He said he believes the planes for deportation to Rwanda would start departing in the spring of next year.
Rishi Sunak said the legislation would “confirm Rwanda is safe” despite the court’s statement that there was a “real risk” for migrants to face persecution. “We’ve been working on a new international treaty with Rwanda, and we will ratify it without delay,” the British prime minister wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
He also added that London will “provide a guarantee in law that those who are relocated from the UK to Rwanda will be protected.” Sunak explained that the British people expect the inflow of migrant boats to stop.
At the same time, the PM did not specify the time frame for introducing legislation or how it would avoid the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“This is a treaty which he’s putting into legislation – it’s just another version of plan A. He’ll be stuck in the courts again. More magic tricks from Rishi’s magical thinking,” an ally of Sunak’s former home secretary, Suella Braverman, was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
On Monday, Suella Braverman was sacked as home secretary by Rishi Sunak after a series of controversies. She has repeatedly made harsh statements about the migration policy of the British prime minister after the dismissal.
In April 2022, a deal was signed between Britain and Rwanda to send migrants who arrive by boat to the East African country for accommodation.
The Rwanda plan has resulted in the British government paying Rwanda at least 140 million pounds (US$175 million). The European Court of Human Rights intervened at the last minute to prevent the first deportation flight from being carried out in June 2022.
