Good evening! The latest edition of The Worst of Westminster is here, covering everything from more problems with the UK Government’s asylum plan to more Tory MPs being called out by the Privileges Committee.
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Rwanda plan derailed
Campaigners and asylum seekers won a Court of Appeal challenge on Thursday over the UK Government’s highly-controversial Rwanda deportation scheme.
Three judges overturned a High Court ruling that previously said the east African nation could be considered a “safe third country”.
The scheme has been designed partly to deter small boat crossings across the Channel.
But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is not a happy bunny. He said he “fundamentally” disagrees with the decision and will seek permission to appeal it in the Supreme Court.
"It is this country – and your government – who should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs," he said.
The Rwandan government also said it “takes issue” with the ruling, claiming it is one of the safest countries in the world.
Stubborn Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who is now facing calls to resign from her post (again…), said she would not allow the decision to get in the way of the plan.
She said: “The British people want to stop the boats, and so does this Government. That’s what I am determined to deliver and I won’t take a backward step from that.”
Committee report takes names
If you thought the Boris Johnson Privileges Committee saga was over, you thought wrong, for his allies have seemingly not escaped the inquiry unscathed.
The report MPs produced named allies Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nadine Dorries and Priti Patel as having taken “it upon themselves to undermine procedures of the House of Commons”.
Zac Goldsmith, a Tory peer and a close friend of Johnson, was also named explicitly in the report and has now resigned as a minister after being asked to apologise for attacking the committee.
Goldsmith claimed he was quitting due to the UK Government's “apathy” towards environmental issues in a resignation letter.
The Privileges Committee highlighted comments both to the press and on social media from those Conservatives and four others: Mark Jenkinson, Michael Fabricant, Brendan Clarke-Smith, and Andrea Jenkyns.
All eight of the Tory politicians may be guilty of contempt of parliament.
Jenrick heckled for refugees claim
Robert Jenrick made himself look a bit of a fool on Wednesday when he falsely claimed the “SNP don’t house refugees in Scotland”.
The minister for immigration made the comments as he attempted to defend the Government’s economic impact assessment for its Rwanda policy – regarded as illegal by the Court of Appeal later in the week.
The document, released late on Monday evening, showed that it would cost around £169,000 per person to deport asylum seekers to the African nation – enough to pay for each of them to board at Eton for three full years.
SNP home affairs spokesperson Alison Thewliss accused the Tories of failing to “recognise the value of human potential” and contrasted this to her experience of Refugee Week in Scotland.
Jenrick replied: “I’m delighted that [Thewliss] celebrated Refugee Week. I don’t know if any refugees came to it because the SNP don’t house refugees in Scotland.”
Jenrick was heckled during his reply, with the Glasgow Central MP bellowing: “How dare you?”
Indeed, how dare he, for Home Office data from 2020 to 2021 published last year showed Scotland took in around 13% of all refugees resettled in the UK during that period – above the country’s population share of 8% of the British total.
AOB
- They might be two names from the past you didn’t want to hear again, but unfortunately George Osborne and Ed Balls have teamed up – yes, that’s right – for an economics podcast. The unlikely duo will launch the series this autumn and claim they want to help people understand “what’s really going on inside the corridors of power”. The suspense is terrible…
- Scotland is set to have two fewer representatives in the Commons. The Boundary Commission for Scotland published its final recommendations for UK Parliament constituencies in Scotland, with two MP seats set to be cut from the allocation north of the border. Oh and, surprise surprise, England’s getting 10 more.
- And Boris is breaking rules AGAIN, as it was deemed he committed a “clear and unambiguous” rule breach after taking up a role as a Daily Mail columnist. The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) revealed that the former prime minister breached rules on post-ministerial jobs as he only asked for advice on his new role 30 minutes before it was announced on Twitter.
