Rwanda Supreme Court ruling LIVE: Cleverly says plan B ‘is ready’ as Sunak unveils effort to save scheme

Prime Minister vows to stop ‘foreign courts’ blocking flights amid pledges to get planes in air by spring

Sunak to introduce emergency legislation to revive Rwanda plan

James Cleverly has revealed the government’s plan B is “ready”, as a rattled Rishi Sunak has unveiled a last-ditch effort to save his flagship illegal migration policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.

After the Supreme Court ruled the policy is unlawful, the home secretary told Sky News the government’s backup plan to get the Rwanda scheme off the ground is “pretty much ready”.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said he would introduce emergency legislation to stop “foreign courts”, such as the European Court of Human Rights, from blocking flights to Kigali as he vowed to get planes in the air by spring next year.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, he said ministers would draw up a new treaty with Rwanda and make changes to domestic law to “remove the obstacles in our way” and address the Supreme Court’s concerns that the east African country is not safe for asylum seekers.

It comes as Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Sunak should apologise to the country for blowing £140m on the failed scheme. “He has wasted all of his time on a gimmick and now he is absolutely nowhere,” the Labour leader said.

Key Points

• Sunak: I’ll introduce emergency legislation to revive Rwanda plan
• Sunak’s Rwanda plan in tatters after Supreme Court rules it unlawful
• Rishi Sunak: ‘This was not the outcome we wanted… but we will stop the boats’
• Rwanda asylum plan: Timeline of government’s policy to deport migrants

[16 November 2023 08:50 · Tara Cobham]

Watch: Cleverly asked if he called Rwanda scheme ‘bats***’

[16 November 2023 09:10 · Tara Cobham]

Cleverly dismissed former Supreme Court judge’s criticism

Former Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption described the Government’s plan of using a law to declare Rwanda as safe as “constitutionally really quite extraordinary”.

But Home Secretary James Cleverly dismissed the criticism, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Find me two lawyers and I will give you three opinions.”

In an occasionally tetchy interview, Mr Cleverly said: “Lawyers argue all the time, that’s literally what they do. I have very eminent lawyers who take a different view.”

He said the Government had “listened very carefully to what was actually said” in the Supreme Court and is taking action to address the “specific deficiencies” identified by the judges.

[16 November 2023 09:30 · Tara Cobham]

Home Secretary insists Government will overcome expected Lords’ objections

Home Secretary James Cleverly has insisted the Government will be able to overcome expected objections to the plans in the House of Lords in order to get the emergency legislation through.

“We are going to make it clear to them why it makes sense,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“We don’t do this job because it’s easy. We do this job because it’s incredibly important. This is a priority for the British people.”

He said the poorest communities carry a disproportionate burden from the “large scale of illegal migration”.

“It’s easy for the comfortably-off to be blase about this, but we recognise that for a number of people this is a real issue.”