Rishi Sunak is set to defy the European Court of Human Rights after its president was accused of “naked judicial activism” over Rwanda deportation flights.
The Prime Minister again insisted he “won’t let a foreign court stop” flights taking off.
Siofra O’Leary, the President of the ECHR, warned Mr Sunak he would be breaking European human rights laws if he ignored so-called “pyjama injunctions” issued at the eleventh hour to prevent migrants from being flown to Kigali.
She even drew comparisons with UK attempts to urge Russia to comply with Rule 39 measures over the treatment of Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Nalvany in 2021.
But Mr Sunak warned the ECHR: “I’ve been very clear, I won’t let a foreign court stop us from getting flights up and running and establishing that deterrent.
“The Bill that we’ve just passed through the House of Commons has a specific power in it that says ministers will get to make those decisions, I would not have put that power in there if I wasn’t prepared to use it.”
Downing Street also rejected comparisons to Russia refusing to comply with a Rule 39 interim measure, declaring: “It would be bizarre to draw any comparison between Russia’s cruel treatment of Alexei Navalny, who was a victim of an attempted assassination attempt, and our plan to protect and deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings across the Channel.”
Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick accused the ECHR of “naked judicial activism” and warned that “an international court only has the powers that member states confer on it”.
Mr Jenrick added: “The UK and other signatories expressly refused to give the Strasbourg court the power to make binding interim measures back in 1949.”
And Senior Tory backbencher and leading Eurosceptic David Jones said: “Rule 39 indications are not binding on the UK.
“They are pronouncements frequently made in the dead of night by Strasbourg judges on the basis of minimal evidence and without hearing argument.
“They are alien to our legal system. Under the Rwanda Bill, ministers can ignore rule 39 indications.
Ever since, the Government’s flagship scheme to end the Channel migrant crisis has been gridlocked in the courts.
And Rishi Sunak was forced to draw up emergency legislation after the Supreme Court ruled the Rwanda Scheme was illegal.
The Prime Minister has also introduced – through the Rwanda Bill – new powers to allow ministers to ignore the interim measures – and insisted the move was legal.
She stressed that the UK Government had itself argued that Russia should comply with Rule 39 measures in relation to the release of anti-Kremlin politician Alexei Navalny in 2021, and last year over the fate of UK nationals detained by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Asked whether the Government now accepted Ms O’Leary’s statement as definitive with regard to Rule 39 orders, the spokesman said: “No. I think we’ve set out our case very clearly.
“I think firstly, we are confident our legislation is compliant with our international obligations. We’re clear the Bill and the treaty address the (UK) Supreme Court’s concerns – there should be no need for Strasbourg to intervene to block flights in the way they did in 2022,” he said.
The spokesman added: “We’ve also drafted the Bill to give ministers the power not to comply with those rulings if necessary. And obviously every case is assessed on its individual facts. But the PM has been clear repeatedly that we will not let a foreign court block flights from taking off.”
