The Supreme Court has declared illegal the British Government’s plan to deport immigrants pending their asylum application to Rwanda, in a severe blow to the “premier” Rishi Sunak which threatens to provoke a rebellion by right-wing deputies, directly demanding the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) of 1950.
The Supreme Court ratified the arguments of an appeals court that ruled in June that Rwanda is not a “safe third country” and that there is “a real risk” that people sent to the African country were “returned to their country of origin, where they were subjected to persecution and other inhuman treatment.”
Rishi Sunak’s Government feared a similar ruling and was considering several options to move forward with its plans. Among them, signing an international treaty with Rwanda and reforming the Human Rights Act in the British Parliament. The “nuclear option”, the exit from the ECHR, was the one defended by Suella Bravermandismissed as Secretary of the Interior last Monday.
In his resignation letter, Braverman accused Sunak of “betrayal” and assured that the “premier” did not have a plan B ready in the event of losing the legal battle in the Supreme Court. Braverman has threatened to mobilize dozens of deputies conservatives to force the “premier” to abandon the ECHR. His challenge could end up leading to a rebellion by the hard wing of the party and frustrate the “premier’s” plans to “reset” the Government with the recent incorporation of David Cameron and his call for party unity.
The former Secretary of the Interior has accused her leader of “weakness”, “lack of integrity” and “failure to keep his promises”. Despite endorsing the “Stop the boats” slogan, Braverman says Sunak has been ambivalent about taking drastic measures against irregular immigration.