Jeremy Hunt has said there is “no guarantee” deportation flights to Rwanda will take off next year – in an apparent climbdown on the government’s position.
On Wednesday Rishi Sunak said three times the flights would take off by spring, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling that the asylum scheme is unlawful.
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However, the chancellor declined to repeat this assurance when repeatedly pressed for a date.
Mr Hunt said: “We are hopeful that because of the solutions that the prime minister announced yesterday we will be able to get flights off to Rwanda next year.
“We can’t guarantee that, we have to pass legislation in the House of Commons and sign a new international treaty with Rwanda.”
Mr Sunak said yesterday the government plans to introduce a legally binding treaty with Rwanda which would address the issues raised by the Supreme Court.
Under the current plan, asylum seekers could be sent from Rwanda back to places where they might not be safe.
He said he would be taking the “extraordinary step of introducing emergency legislation”, which will “enable parliament to confirm that with our new treaty, Rwanda is safe”.
“We will clear the remaining barriers and flights will be heading off in the spring as planned,” he later told journalists during a Q&A.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick was also unequivocal that flights would take off next year.
Asked on the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge on Sky News whether flights with asylum seekers are going to take off to Rwanda before the next general election,…
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2023-11-16 14:40:00
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