Sunak vows emergency legislation as Supreme Court rules against Rwanda repatriation

UK Prime minister Rishi Sunak has vowed to introduce emergency legislation and defy European judges as he tries to rescue his stricken policy of removing asylum seekers to Rwanda.

The UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Wednesday that the government’s policy was unlawful, with opposition Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer saying the ruling had “blown up” Sunak’s Rwanda policy.

But Sunak said at a Downing Street press conference he still intended to put asylum seekers on planes to the African nation “in the spring next year” and that he would introduce emergency legislation to make it happen.

The UK prime minister said a new treaty would be agreed with Rwanda to address concerns raised by the Supreme Court and then MPs would be asked to approve legislation to endorse the treaty. “This will enable parliament to confirm that, with our new treaty, Rwanda is safe,” he said.

“This will enable parliament to confirm that, with our new treaty, Rwanda is safe,” he said.

Earlier Lord Robert Reed, president of the Supreme Court, said asylum seekers sent to Rwanda would be at real risk of being repatriated to their countries of origin without proper consideration of their claims.

The Supreme Court said in its Wednesday judgment: “There are substantial grounds for believing that the removal of the claimants to Rwanda would expose them to a real risk of ill-treatment by reason of refoulement.”

The decision infuriated Conservative MPs and left Sunak’s migration policy in tatters.

One minister told the Financial Times: “There is no chance anyone will be on a plane to Rwanda before the election.”