Suella Braverman breaks silence on Rwanda migrant shambles with dig at Sunak

15 November 2023 , 16:19

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Suella Braverman was sacked as Home Secretary (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Sacked 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.

In a string of posts on X, she warned that the PM must be willing to either "legislate or admit defeat" on stopping the boats.

Her intervention came less than 24 hours after she published a devastating letter accusing Mr Sunak of “betrayal”. She condemned his “weak” leadership of the country and claimed he had backtracked on a string of promises he had made to her last year before she backed him to become Tory leader.

Writing on X this afternoon, she demanded that Mr Sunak pass new laws in order to get the Rwanda scheme up and running. She said: “Today’s Supreme Court judgment is no surprise. It was predicted by a number of people close to the process. Given the current state of the law, there is no reason to criticise the judges. Instead, the government must introduce emergency legislation.

“The Bill must block off ECHR, HRA (Human Rights Act), and other routes of legal challenge. This will give Parliament a clear choice: control illegal migration or explain to the British people why they should accept ever greater numbers of illegal arrivals settling here.

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“Those who - like me - believe that effective immigration control is vital must understand that they cannot have their cake and eat it: there is no chance of curbing illegal migration within the current legal framework. We must legislate or admit defeat.”

Her criticism came as the PM faced calls from campaigners to abandon his Rwanda plan once and for all after it was torn to shreds in the courts. Mr Sunak has insisted he wants to try to salvage the £140million scheme to deport all small boat arrivals, including refugees seeking sanctuary. But critics urged him to “draw a line under” the “disgraceful chapter” in the country’s history.

In a massive blow to the Government, judges at the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the plan was illegal, as they warned refugees risked being put in danger by being sent to Rwanda. It came after more than 18 months of wrangling.

Mr Sunak refused to apologise for spending tens of millions of taxpayers' cash on the botched project as Labour leader Keir Starmer warned he had “wasted all his time on a gimmick and now he's absolutely nowhere”.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said the Government has been working on a new treaty with Rwanda that will be unveiled within days in a bid to address the concerns of the courts. He added that the Government is prepared to change laws if they continue to block the plan.

John Stevens