RISHI Sunak says the plan for Rwanda is working as migrants flee to Ireland to escape deportation.
Illegal migrants are now “concerned” about coming to the UK, the Prime Minister has said.
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This comes after Irish Deputy Prime Minister Michael Martins stated that the UK’s plan for Rwanda is causing an influx of migrants into the Republic.
Sunak said this shows his flagship plan to stop boats is “already having an impact”.
He told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “The ban… is already having an impact because people are worried about coming here and that demonstrates exactly what I’m saying.
“If people come to our country illegally but know they can’t stay, they are much less likely to come, which is why the Rwanda program is so important.”
The prime minister has had a good week after emergency flight takeoff legislation finally passed parliament.
And the first flights to Kigali are expected in next some months.
Illegal immigrants have already received letters warning them that they could be deported to Rwanda.
Inspection operations are planned for this week against those who will be deported, Interior Ministry sources say.
But Conservative MPs have issued a warning to the meddling Strasbourg judges who blocked the first attempted flight to Rwanda two years ago.
Tom Hunt, MP for Ipswich, said: “The Prime Minister is right, we can already see that the plan for Rwanda is working.
“Despite what the Labor Party says, this is exactly what the British people want.
“If a foreigner courts like the ECHR’s attempt to block it, then we must consider the exit.”
And even the wet One Nation people warned the Europeans Court Human Rights Council should not attempt to block flights.
Former minister Damian Green said: “These are early but encouraging signs that deterrence is working.
“If the ECHR tries to stop flights, Britain must lead its modernization and reform.”
The Prime Minister recently told The Sun that Britain will abandon the ECHR if that is what it takes to stop the small boats.
Other countries are now closely watching Rwanda’s historic scheme as they grapple with their own migration crises.
The PM could even call a Photograph election in July when the first flights are called, in a bid to capitalize on the momentum.
It comes as Tory bigwig Robert Jenrick demands Parliament vote on the annual migrant cap.
A report by the former immigration minister is due to be published after the local elections and will show that migration is now 100 times higher than before New Labour.
WHAT IS RWANDA’S PLAN? IMMIGRATION SCHEME EXPLAINED
What is the plan for Rwanda?
Under the plan, anyone arriving illegally in the UK will be deported to Rwanda, an East African country.
The government believes the threat of being transferred to Rwanda will deter migrants from making the dangerous Channel crossing in small boats.
Once in Rwanda, your asylum claims will be processed, but there is no route back to the UK, barring some exceptional circumstances, such as individual safety concerns. Britain will pay migrants to start a new life in Rwanda.
Why the delay?
First announced by Boris Johnson in 2022, the scheme has been bogged down by relentless legal challenges.
The first flight was due to take off in the summer of 2022, but was blocked on the runway at the last minute by a European Court order.
Since then, the legality of the plan has been challenged in the courts, culminating in a Supreme Court ruling in November last year that declared Rwanda unsafe for asylum seekers.
What is Sunak doing?
To save Rwanda’s plan from the Supreme Court’s blunt ruling, Rishi Sunak announced a two-pronged alternative solution.
First, it would sign a new treaty with Rwanda to strengthen protection for asylum seekers, which will be enshrined in law.
Secondly, it would introduce new legislation that would declare Rwanda a safe country.
This would mean that courts, police and officials would have to treat it as safe unless there was a risk of individual and irreparable harm.
How long will it take?
The legislation passed the House of Commons but is now suspended in the House of Lords.
Rishi Sunak does not have a majority in the Lords and his peers are much more hostile to the plan.
They will likely send it back to the House of Commons with amendments that will weaken the scheme.
Such changes would be unfair to deputies, who would withdraw the measures and send them back.
This “ping-pong” will continue until either side – usually the unelected Lords – gives in and the bill is passed.
When will flights take off?
Sunak wants the first flights to be sent to Rwanda by spring.
But potential obstacles include more legal battles launched by individual migrants or the European Court of Human Rights.
Sunak has vowed to ignore any further orders from Strasbourg judges to ground the planes, although individual appeals in national courts could prove complicated.
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will abandon the scheme if he is elected Prime Minister, even if it is working.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
