RISHI Sunak will learn the fate of his flagship Rwanda deportation scheme TODAY.
At 10am the Supreme Court will make a final ruling on whether the major plan to tackle small boat crossings is legal.
AFPRishi Sunak has a Plan B in case Rwanda is sunk[/caption]
The fate of the policy will be ruled on by the country’s most senior judges.
Defeat would deal a blow to the PM’s pledge to stop the boats ahead of an expected general election next year.
But yesterday No10 claimed ministers had been war-gaming the potential outcomes and drafting contingencies.
Mr Sunak’s spokesman said: “We’ve got options for possible scenarios as you would expect.”
New Home Secretary James Cleverly also briefed the Cabinet ahead of the ruling due at 10am today.
The claims from Downing Street came just hours before outgoing Home Secretary Suella Braverman blasted the PM for NOT having “any sort of credible Plan B” in her blistering resignation letter.
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She wrote: “If we lose in the Supreme Court, an outcome that I have consistently argued we must be prepared for, you will have wasted a year and an Act of Parliament, only to arrive back at square one.
“Worse than this, your magical thinking – believing that you can will your way through this without upsetting polite opinion – has meant you have failed to prepare any sort of credible ‘Plan B’.”
Last summer the Court of Appeal overturned a judgement from the High Court that the removal scheme was safe.
By a two-to-one vote judges were not reassured the Kigali government would not later send migrants on to other countries where they could face persecution.
Ministers also say a ruling of unlawfulness does not necessarily kill off the plan – first announced in 2022 by Boris Johnson – but will depend on how bad the judgement is.
Losing in the Supreme Court would also fuel Tory calls to quit the European Court of Human Right.
But victory would be a huge boost for Mr Sunak who would look to get flights off the ground as soon as possible.
Earlier today the PM achieved the first of his five pledges – halving inflation.
A win at the Supreme Court could put him on track to secure a second victory.
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Britain has paid Rwanda £140million to rehouse asylum seekers crossing the Channel.
Ministers claim it will deter tens of thousands making the perilous journey if they know they will be flown to the East African country.
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