'No migrants in Rwanda by Christmas': Raab won't guarantee when first refugee may land

16 June 2022, 08:28 | Updated: 16 June 2022, 08:38

Raab quizzed on Rwanda migrant deportations

Dominic Raab refused to put his reputation on the line to guarantee at least one migrant will have been deported to Rwanda by the end of the year when challenged on LBC this morning.

The Deputy Prime Minister said he could not "give a precise date" as to when the first migrants will be sent to the African country after the first schedule flight was grounded by legal challenges.

Speaking to Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, the Justice Secretary was asked: "Are you prepared to state your professional reputation on the fact that somebody will be in Kigali by the end of the year? One migrant at least in Kagali by the end of 2022?"

Mr Raab replied: "Well look you are asking me to give the kind of cast iron guarantee that I know Nick your listeners need and hanker for, but I can tell you I am fully supportive of what Priti Patel is doing.

"I think we need what I would call calm focus, there is a lot of people who are going to be making these histrionic arguments on one side!

Read more: Boris refuses to rule out leaving European human rights treaty after Rwanda fight

Nick interjected and asked the Deputy PM again: "So you are not prepared to put your professional Reputation on line?"

The Government minister refused to answer explaining: "Well I don’t quite know what the courts are going to decide in the hearing but what I can tell you is I’m very confident that we have set out a sensible proportionate plan which far from erodes human rights, will protect human rights because it will help stem this flow, this trade of migrants and a trade in human misery."

He added: "I don’t think I can give a precise date. The important thing to understand is that this on going legal challenge has been around the injunctions we have got a full hearing due in a few weeks and all the issues can be aired there and I would expect and I hope, because we are confident in our position, that we will get clarity from the UK courts and then we can proceed.

"But then of course now there is a question mark about whether Strasberg will intervene."

'Will the Govt ignore the ECHR ruling?'

His comments come after Ministers were warned deportation flights to Rwanda face delays of up to a year through more last-minute injunctions from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Mr Raab is said to be looking into whether it will be possible to disregard the rulings from the Strasbourg court in cases already examined by British judges.

There have been growing concerns surrounding the newly-introduced policy after the first flight to Rwanda on Tuesday was grounded by the ECHR mere minutes before take off.

The court ruled that one of the asylum seekers - a 54-year-old Iraqi man - should not be deported until at least three weeks after a judicial review next month, which will decide whether the Government's Rwanda policy is lawful.

Two more then had their cases backed by the European court, before the remaining four were also removed.

It came despite the first flight was previously given the green light by both the High Court and Court of Appeal before being stopped by the ECHR.

Read more: 'Kick these b*****ds into touch': Tory fury at Euro judges for Rwanda flight block

ECHR 'thwarted' will of British people

A government source told the Telegraph that the three-week delay could be critical in allowing time for an appeal to be lodged with the European court if ministers won the judicial review.

"The Strasbourg court would be motivated to protect its process by a similar injunction preventing the flights until the case was resolved, which could take a year or more," said the source.

The warning was previously laid out by leading constitutional lawyers including Richard Ekins, Oxford University's professor of law and constitutional government, and ex-mandarin Sir Stephen Laws, a former parliamentary counsel who prepared government legislation.

"If the Supreme Court in the end upholds the lawfulness of removal to Rwanda, it is of course entirely conceivable – indeed probable – that the [European court] will make further interim measures restricting removals to Rwanda until the [court] has itself had time to hold a hearing and to make its own decision," they said in a paper for Policy Exchange.

"What this means is that, if the UK complies and if the [European court] – as it routinely does – takes its time then the Government’s Rwanda policy may not go ahead for years.

"That would effectively end it."

Rwanda deportations a 'disaster in the making'

However, a government source told the Daily Mail that the ECHR's injunctions were "not binding", claiming many signatories routinely turned a blind eye to its rulings.

"Pulling out of the ECHR completely would be a massive call, but there is scope for looking again at how we treat out-of-hours injunctions from Strasbourg," the source said.

"People talk about the UK's role in creating the court after the Second World War and that is right.

"But the way that charter has been interpreted in recent years has become very elastic and taken it a long way from its original aims."

Govt "disappointed" Rwanda migrant flight halted

Boris Johnson refused to rule out completely leaving the treaty on Wednesday, with Downing Street saying "all options are on the table" following the intervention.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was "disappointed" with the outcome on Tuesday but remained determined to see the plans through.

A statement read: "I have always said this policy will not be easy to deliver and am disappointed that legal challenge and last-minute claims have meant today's flight was unable to depart.

"It is very surprising that the European Court of Human Rights has intervened despite repeated earlier success in our domestic courts.

"These repeated legal barriers are similar to those we experience with other removals flights and many of those removed from this flight will be placed on the next.

"We will not be deterred from doing the right thing and delivering our plans to control our nation's borders.

"Our legal team are reviewing every decision made on this flight and preparation for the next flight begins now."