Suella Braverman 'encouraged' by talks with European Court of Human Rights as she prepares Rwanda migrant push
20 March 2023, 06:06 | Updated: 20 March 2023, 08:28
The Home Secretary has said she is "encouraged" after speaking to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) about the injunction that stopped migrant flights to Rwanda last year.
Speaking with the Strasbourg court, the government has asked for a higher legal threshold for any Rule 39 injunction that previously stopped deportation flights.
The government has also asked the ECHR to consider the UK High Court's ruling that its Rwanda scheme is lawful.
Speaking from Rwanda over the weekend, Ms Braverman said: "The government has been clear that the opaque Strasbourg process which led to the last-minute grounding of our Rwanda flight with a Rule 39 order last year was deeply flawed."
"That's why we have measures in our bill that will address how the UK intends to comply with such orders in the future.
"But I've been encouraged by the government's constructive recent discussions with Strasbourg, including around possible reforms to Rule 39 procedures, which is obviously something we'd like to see."
Read More: Government's Rwanda deportation scheme ruling can be appealed, High Court says
It comes after Ms Braverman vowed to send migrants to Rwanda by summer, claiming the central African country is 'clearly ready' to take in people seeking asylum in Britain.
The home secretary told selected reporters in capital Kigali on Saturday evening: "We are working to make this happen as soon as possible.
"There is every possibility that we can move quickly if we get a good line of judgment in our favour.
"Rwanda is clearly ready."
She added that the government's new Illegal Migration Bill does not pull the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights, but added: "Nothing is off the table, ultimately."
Ms Braverman had insisted on Saturday morning that Rwanda can process 'many thousands' of migrants seeking asylum in Britain as she visited housing blocks in the country.
No migrants have been sent to Rwanda as the deal, signed last April, is stuck in legal limbo.
The Home Office said last July that Rwanda has initial capacity for 200 people, with plans to increase that once flights begin.
Braverman said that figure is a "completely false narrative peddled by critics who want to scrap the deal".
She also declared the plan “will act as a powerful deterrent against dangerous and illegal journeys”, including small boat trips across the Channel.
