Rishi Sunak vows to end immigration backlog – but dodges questions about leaving the European Convention on Human Rights | Politics news

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Rishi Sunak has repeatedly refused to say whether the UK should leave the European Convention on Human Rights to hand over his government’s plan to turn away irregularly-arriving asylum-seekers.

On his first appearance on the House of Commons Liaison Committee, he was asked by Joanna Cherry of the Scottish National Party if the UK should repudiate the European Convention on Human Rights to live up to his proposals to limit immigration.

“You will see the legislation next year and there is no doubt that we will have the opportunity to discuss it then, but I do not want to speculate on that now,” he said.

Mr. Sunak said he welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday that the government’s policy of deporting asylum-seekers to Rwanda was lawful.

He told lawmakers he believed the plans would help address the problem of small boats crossing the canal.

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But the prime minister refused to base it on whether the government’s policy on Rwanda required changes to human rights law or the UK’s commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Both Home Secretary Soella Braverman and Justice Minister Dominic Raab said the government may have to consider withdrawing from the European Court of Human Rights to successfully advance the government’s plans.

“We anticipate further legal challenges and will continue to pursue that as necessary,” he said.

“I think the Rwanda Plan is an important part of our plan to tackle illegal immigration and stop small boats. It’s not the only part of it but it’s an important part of it. That’s why I welcome the court’s decision yesterday.

“We will introduce legislation in the new year that will achieve the goal that I set. I am confident we can implement this plan and it will make a difference and reduce the number of boats coming in.”

On Monday, Lord Justice Lewis said in his ruling that the controversial policy, introduced by Boris Johnson, is “consistent with the Refugee Convention”.

However, he said the home secretary should look into people’s “special circumstances” before deporting them to the central African country.

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2:36 Braverman defends the Rwanda plan

In a statement to the House of Commons after the ruling, the Home Secretary said the Rwanda policy was a “humane” and “practical” alternative for those who come to the UK via “dangerous, illegal and unnecessary routes”.

“Moving to Rwanda is not a punishment, but an innovative way to address a major problem of redressing the imbalance between illegal and legal migration routes,” she told MPs.

The government announced its policy on Rwanda in April, which will see some asylum seekers who arrived in the UK via small boat crossing the Channel be deported back to the country to process their cases.

Patel said it would help deter people from making the dangerous journey, but human rights activists, charities and opposition parties condemned the plan as inhumane.

The prime minister is evasive as he faces questions about immigration

The prime minister avoided directly answering questions about immigration.

Diana Johnson asked how many small boat crossings he could expect next year, whether anyone would wait longer than 6 months for asylum applications and how many applications would be sent to Rwanda, but the prime minister did not set specific targets, saying problems “could “It is not resolved overnight.”

While yesterday’s court ruling that Rwanda’s plan was legal was a win for the government, the plan’s viability depends on swift action.

The home office is potentially dragged to court for every deportation case in Rwanda, which makes it very difficult for politics to act as a deterrent.

Rishi Sunak knows it is an issue that resonates with many Conservative Party voters and MPs, something he has said is a personal priority.

He vowed last week to “undo” the immigration backlog, to achieve something his predecessors have tried and failed to achieve.

The Prime Minister may not have set himself any goals today, but the pictures of the small boats arriving on the Kent coast would speak for themselves.

The first flight was scheduled to take off in June with four people on board, but it was halted after a number of legal challenges and the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the plan had a “real risk of irreversible harm”.

However, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss insisted they would go ahead with politics when they took the keys to Number 10.

Meanwhile, the prime minister has also told the House of Commons Liaison Committee that he is committed to clearing the backlog of 92,000 asylum applications – as it was at the end of June 2022 – by the end of the year.

However, the current backlog is 117.00.

“I think it would represent one of the most significant reductions in the backlog that we’ve seen. If we can move forward, I would absolutely love that,” he said.

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