The United Kingdom Supreme Court has rejected a controversial government plan to repatriate migrants to Rwanda.
The apex court upheld a lower court judgement that it was unlawful, in a significant setback for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
A five-judge panel of the Supreme Court unanimously took the position of the Appeal Court judges that the policy was incompatible with Britain’s obligations under international treaties.
“We conclude that the Court of Appeal… was entitled to find that there are substantial grounds for believing that the removal of the claimants to Rwanda would expose them to a real risk of ill-treatment,” they concluded.
They further agreed with the Appeal Court’s in June, which said that Rwanda risked forcibly returning asylum seekers and refugees to a country where they could face persecution, in a move known as refoulement.
Having been taken through the evidence, we agree with their conclusion,” they added in their 56-page ruling.
The Conservatives led by Sunak had insisted the Rwanda scheme is crucial to reduce “illegal” immigration across the Channel on small boats — an issue set to feature prominently in the next general election.
But the ruling scuppers a saga that began in April last year when Britain signed a deal with Rwanda to send undocumented migrants to interim centres there and leaves the UK leader’s immigration agenda in tatters.
It is also set to widen rifts in the ruling Tory party between right-wing lawmakers and moderates.
Esabod Global News recalls that the UK government launched the Rwanda plan in April 2022 by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson; it is designed to deter asylum seekers from making the dangerous journey of about 20 miles (32 km) across the Channel from Europe in small boats or inflatable dinghies to England’s southern beaches.
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