LABOUR leader Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to rip up the Rwanda deportation plan — even if it is successful in stopping illegal migrants crossing the Channel.
He opened his party conference by claiming the controversial scheme was “wrong” and “hugely expensive”, ahead of a Supreme Court showdown over its future.
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to rip up the Government’s Rwanda deportation planGary Roberts Photography/Shutterstock
And he plans to do so even if the scheme is successful at stopping illegal immigrationStuart Brock
The policy will forcibly remove asylum-seekers to the African country, if the court does not block it.
The scheme is designed to act as a deterrent to small boat crossings but has become mired in challenges from human rights lawyers.
Tonight, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick branded Sir Keir’s intervention “proof, if it were needed, Labour don’t want to stop the boats”.
He said: “They are ideologically opposed to border controls.
“Their solution is to force British communities to tolerate this flagrant criminality.”
A Government source said: “Sir Keir’s just another human rights lawyer from North London who puts party interests before the British people.”
Downing Street pledged to stop the boats back in January, but 25,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year.
Initially, only a handful will be deported to Rwanda but ministers are hopeful it can be scaled up to hundreds or even thousands.
But even if the Government wins in the Supreme Court, it faces a battle with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Asked if he would stop the plans even if judges backed it and crossings declined, Sir Keir raged: “It’s a tiny number of individuals who would go to Rwanda and the real problem is at source.
“You’re putting this to me on the basis that it’s working.
“We’ve been told by the Government time and again that even saying they’ve got a Rwanda scheme will reduce the numbers. That hasn’t happened.”
The UK has already paid Rwanda £140million under its asylum partnership announced in April last year but removal flights are yet to take off.
The Supreme Court hearing starts tomorrow, with a judgment expected next month.
Sir Keir’s grilling came on the first day of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
In a BBC interview, he was also quizzed on his shaky claims that growth would be kickstarted just by Labour taking power at the election, expected next autumn.
He said: “Growth can happen very quickly. Within months of a Labour government turning in, we can turn this around and get the investment we need.”
He went on: “Investors are ready to join us. They are holding off at the moment because of the instability.
“I want to ensure our country is no longer held back and can move forward under growth.
“Some of the change that we need to make can be done very quickly.”
Meanwhile, on the conference stage, deputy leader Angela Rayner opened the four-day bash, vowing to rip up tough new strike laws within 100 days of Labour seizing No10.
She also said Labour would boost protections for gig workers and enshrine basic employment rights.
She said: “We’ll ban zero-hour contracts and fire-and-rehire, and give workers basic rights from day one.
“We’ll go further and faster in closing the gender pay gap, make work more family-friendly, and tackle sexual harassment. And we won’t stop there.
“We’ll ensure unions can stand up for their members. We will boost collective bargaining to improve workers’ pay, terms and conditions.”
Shadow Deputy PM Angela Rayner planned to rip up tough new strike laws within 100 days of Labour seizing No10AFP via Getty Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
