RISHI Sunak today pleaded with Tory rebels to fall behind his Rwanda plan with a promise to ignore European judges who try to block removal flights.
The PM insisted he was prepared “in some circumstances” to overrule Strasbourg Court orders to ground planes.
ReutersRishi Sunak insisted he would be prepared to overrule European judges[/caption]
He moved to blunt attacks from rebel backbenchers who claim his current Rwanda legislation is riddled with “loopholes” and are trying to toughen it up.
Almost 60 Conservative MPs are backing a series of amendments to harden the Bill and are threatening to torpedo the entire removal plan in votes this week if their demands are not met.
Moving to head off the rebellion, Mr Sunak today claimed the Bill already satisfied one of their pleas for ministers to ignore the European Court of Human Rights.
The PM told GB News: “I won’t let a foreign court stop us from getting flights off and this deterrent working.
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“There’s a clause in the Bill that says, very specifically, that it is for ministers to decide whether to comply with Rule 39 rulings as they’re called, I would not have put that clause in the Bill if I was not prepared to use it.
“Now look I don’t think Strasbourg will intervene because of the checks and balances in our system. And of course, there will be individual circumstances that people want us to consider on the facts.
“But if you’re asking me you know, are there circumstances in which I’m prepared to ignore those Rule 39s? Then yes, of course there are.”
Known as “pyjama injunctions”, a Rule 39 order made by anonymous ECHR judges – often in the dead of night – scuppered the first planned deportation flight to Rwanda in 2022.
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While the Rwanda Bill gives ministers the discretion to overrule them, rightwing Tories worry Mr Sunak would hold off for fear of breaking international law.
Rebel ringleader Robert Jenrick is mounting an amendment that would automatically throw out any Rule 39 orders as a default.
Downing Street aides were today locked in talks with backbenchers ahead of two days of votes on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Mr Sunak said he was “happy to have a dialogue with anyone who thinks they might have an idea that will improve the effectiveness of the Bill”.
He has little wriggle room as centrist Tory “wets” have warned they will put their support if the Rwanda scheme is ramped up any more.
But some of the 60 rightwing Tories have said they will vote against the entire Rwanda Bill if it is not toughened, including ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
And former Cabinet Minister Simon Clarke said he is “minded as things stand today to vote against” the Bill.
Mr Sunak will lose the crunch vote expected Wednesday night if more than 32 Tory MPs vote against, or 55 abstain.
Other rebel amendments include provisions to strike out the ability of individual migrants to lodge legal challenges against their removal to Rwanda.
The rebels believe the current Bill can be exploited by left-wing lawyers to thwart deportations, although No10 insists the legislation will reject more than 90 per cent of claims.
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