Sacked home secretary Suella Braverman has demanded that Rishi Sunak introduces “emergency legislation” blocking off the European Convention on Human Rights after the Rwanda policy was scuppered by the Supreme Court.
Less than 24 hours after her scathing attack on the Prime Minister’s leadership, the former minister intervened again to tell the Government to bring forward new measures or “admit defeat”.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, she said the judgment was “no surprise” to people close to the process, adding: “Given the current state of the law, there is no reason to criticise the judges. Instead, the government must introduce emergency legislation.”
We must legislate or admit defeat
Measures to prevent both the ECHR and the Human Rights Act working as barriers would be central to any Bill, she said, echoing the demands made by other MPs on the Tory right.
The Prime Minister is facing wider unrest in the Conservative ranks after the scheme to send asylum seekers to the east African nation was ruled to be unlawful by five of the UK’s most senior judges.
The New Conservatives grouping of MPs said the judgment felt “existential” for the party, while deputy chairman Lee Anderson said ministers should “ignore the law” and start removing asylum seekers immediately.
Backbenchers on the right of the party are now calling for a drastic overhaul of the UK’s rights and treaties framework, potentially going beyond their previous suggestion of overriding the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
Other measures to disapply treaties such as the Refugee Convention should now be considered if necessary given the scope of the judgment, the New Conservatives have argued.
Speaking after a meeting of the group with other Tory MPs on Wednesday, co-chair Danny Kruger said: “The Government should immediately announce an intention to do what is necessary to insist on our sovereignty.
“That means legislation to override the effect of the European court, of the ECHR itself and of other conventions including the Refugee Convention if necessary.”
Co-chair Miriam Cates did not say whether she maintained full confidence in the PM when asked by journalists.
“He has said he will do whatever it takes to stop the boats. The next few days will show whether we’ve got the legislative power and the political will to do that.
Ms Cates added: “We will support him to do whatever it takes.”
Tory Party deputy chairman Mr Anderson suggested the Government defy the ruling of the court and remove migrants the same day they arrive in the UK.
He described the Supreme Court judgment as a “dark day for the British people” and said ministers should “just put the planes in the air now and send them to Rwanda”.
“It’s time for the Government to show real leadership and send them back, same day. I think we should ignore the law and send them straight back the same day,” he said.
Respecting the rule of law means respecting the impartial judgments of our independent courts. Judges apply the law without fear or favour – a longstanding principle of our democratic constitution
Downing Street refused to condemn the Tory deputy chairman for suggesting ministers ignore the judgment, but Justice Secretary Alex Chalk later indicated the Government would respect the decisions of the judiciary.
“Respecting the rule of law means respecting the impartial judgments of our independent courts. Judges apply the law without fear or favour – a longstanding principle of our democratic constitution,” he said in a post on X.
In a 56-page ruling, five of the UK’s senior judges agreed that there had not been a proper assessment of whether Rwanda was safe for asylum seekers and that the country’s history “cannot be effectively ignored or sidelined”.
None of the £140 million the UK has already spent can be clawed back and a new upgraded agreement with Kigali announced by Mr Sunak is expected to add even more to the costs, with Labour accusing the Government of wasting taxpayer cash.
Jonathan Gullis, part of the New Conservatives grouping, said there was a range of options the Government could consider, including physically pushing small boats back into French waters in the Channel.
“Obviously disappointing, the decision today for the Government, but crucially we need to make sure that a plan B is quickly enacted in order to retain the trust of voters and to make sure that we do deliver on that pledge to stop the boats,” he said.
He said another option would be to “literally push boats back into French territorial waters… or if not, take more direct action and actually start returning people to the French shores rather than bringing them back over to British shores, regardless of any conflict that may end up with the French government.”
Meanwhile, Brendan Clarke-Smith, another Conservative MP from the 2019 intake, posted a picture on X, formerly Twitter, of a 2016 Daily Mail headline suggesting judges were “enemies of the people” over a ruling on Brexit.
“We’ve been here before,” he wrote.
He later insisted he had not been attacking justices of the Supreme Court but making a point about the “democratic choices” of British people, adding: “Like we did then with Brexit, we solved the problem in Parliament and it’s my intention to make this happen again.”
Former Cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke said the Government’s response to the legal setback would be a “confidence issue” in Mr Sunak’s judgment as a Prime Minister.
He suggested emergency legislation would have to be put forward “at a minimum” to assert Parliament’s sovereignty.
It comes after Mrs Braverman accused the Prime Minister of being “uncertain” and “weak” in an incendiary letter where she claimed she had agreed to be his home secretary on “certain conditions,” including a number commitments on migration.
In the Commons, Home Secretary James Cleverly resisted calls to withdraw from the ECHR and the international Refugee Convention, telling Tory MPs: “I don’t believe those things are necessary.”
He added that “national governments can’t just vote themselves out of international commitments” and as a former foreign secretary he knew they were “incredibly powerful tools as we try and do good around the wider world”.
Mr Sunak’s strategy is to seek a new treaty with Rwanda that will address the concerns of the Supreme Court.
But the Prime Minister said that “if it becomes clear that our domestic legal frameworks or international conventions are still frustrating the plans at that point, I am prepared to change our laws and revisit those international relationships”.
