After ruling by Strasbourg court, No 10 refuses to rule out withdrawing from European convention on human rights
Priti Patel was accused by Labour of overseeing a “shambles” and participating in a “government by gimmick” after the 11th-hour cancellation of the first plane carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The home secretary disclosed that some cancelled Rwandan flight passengers will be released into the community wearing tags, as she promised to continue to pursue the policy of outsourcing refugees to the east African state.
It comes as government insiders said that they hoped to try again to send asylum seekers to Rwanda within weeks.
Up to seven people who had come to the UK seeking refuge had been expected to be removed to Rwanda an hour and a half before the flight was due to take off.
But a ruling granting a temporary injunction by the European court of human rights (ECHR) on one of the seven cases allowed lawyers for the other six to make successful last-minute applications.
There is no right of appeal to the temporary injunction. It halted the deportation of an Iraqi asylum seeker to Rwanda until three weeks after a judicial review by the UK’s courts had delivered its verdict, potentially delaying any flight until August.
Sources close to the government have criticised the lack of transparency surrounding the ECHR judgment, saying on Wednesday that the Home Office was still trying to establish the name of the judge who made the ruling.
Government lawyers wish to...
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