Rishi Sunak has caved in to demands from hard-right MPs to allow the UK to ignore rulings from the European court of human rights on small boat crossings, government sources have said.
Backbench rebels have been pushing the prime minister to harden the illegal migration bill so ministers can ignore interim rulings. One of the Strasbourg court’s rule 39 injunctions blocked the government’s first attempt to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda last year.
These so-called interim measures are typically used to suspend an expulsion or extradition, often by asylum seekers who fear persecution if they are returned to their home country.
Between 2020 and 2022, the ECHR granted 12 of 161 applications for interim measures against the UK government.
After days of wrangling with rightwing MPs, government sources claim that an amendment to the new law will empower the home secretary to “disregard” interim rule 39 orders. Suella Braverman, the home secretary, was a key figure in landing the breakthrough, according to the Times.
Another proposed change to the legislation will enshrine in law that the only way to stop a deportation of refused asylum seekers or criminals is by persuading a British judge that it would lead to “serious and irreversible harm”, the sources claimed.
The Home Office is due to publish its own amendments to the bill on Thursday before it returns to the House of Commons for the next stage of debates and votes next week.
The bill will introduce measures that will bar anyone who arrives in the UK illegally from claiming asylum and allow them to be detained and removed.
A group of hardline MPs had been pushing for a much tougher approach to rulings from the Strasbourg court while remaining in the European Convention of Human Rights.
In a meeting with the Common Sense Group of Tory MPs on Tuesday, the prime minister was said to have resisted committing to ignore rulings from judges in Strasbourg, which have led to the Rwanda removals plan being stalled.
But according to several of those present, Sunak told them he had “skin in the game, too” and was staking his own premiership on an unequivocal commitment to stop the boats.
A source close to the group said they realised the legislation “needs to be acceptable” to moderate backbenchers.
One of the rebel ringleaders, Danny Kruger, told the i newspaper: “My colleagues and I are grateful to the home secretary and prime minister for their work to secure most of the changes … we asked for.”
Simon Hart, the government chief whip, had argued against offering concessions to appease the rebels, the Times said. Hart said ministers should instead table their amendments as there was no risk of being defeated, after estimating that fewer than two dozen Tories would hold out, a government source told the newspaper.
Removing the UK altogether from the ECHR, the rights of which were incorporated into UK law in 1998 with the Human Rights Act, is viewed as problematic as the court was an integral part of the Good Friday agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland.
In a separate disagreement at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, Sunak claimed the Welsh government’s plans to pay asylum seekers £1,600 a month in basic income showed Labour is “paying” for small boats to cross the Channel.
He appeared to suggest the proposals to offer young asylum seekers who settle in Wales access to an ongoing basic income pilot could incentivise people-smuggling. The two-year pilot is open to care leavers.
Sunak’s criticism comes after ministers reportedly blocked a Welsh government request for young migrants to receive free legal aid. A Welsh government spokesperson said: “We believe that care leavers have a right to be properly supported as they develop into independent young adults.
“Too many young people leaving care continue to face significant barriers to achieving a successful transition into adulthood than many of their peers.
“In line with our nation of sanctuary approach, we want to ensure that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are supported to rebuild their lives and are not prevented from accessing appropriate Welsh government schemes and benefits to support their integration.”
It comes after Home Office figures on Tuesday revealed that 5,049 people have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year. About 113 individuals were detected in three boats on Monday, suggesting an average of about 38 people per boat.
