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Rishi Sunak gave the strongest indication yet that he was open to withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), arguing that immigration control was more important than being “member of a foreign court”.
In a testy interview, the prime minister fiercely defended his approach to dealing with small boats crossing the English Channel, but signaled he was open to leaving the ECHR if Rwanda policy was hampered.
The Prime Minister said: Sun‘s don’t worry about the ballot Program: “While we believe that all programs comply with all international obligations, including the ECHR, we believe that ensuring border security and illegal immigration are more important than being part of a foreign court.” Because it is fundamental to our nation’s sovereignty. ”
Mr Sunak was joined by right-wing Conservative MPs, including former Home Secretary Suela Braverman, who are calling for the UK to leave the ECHR, fearing that the ECHR’s provisions could prevent asylum seekers from being deported to Rwanda. is under continuous pressure from
The prime minister has so far resisted such calls, but said he would disobey orders from the European Court of Human Rights if necessary to implement the Rwanda plan.
Rwanda’s Security (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, currently going through parliament, contains a clause that allows ministers to override such orders.
But members of the One Nation Group, which is made up of more moderate Conservative MPs, have warned against withdrawing from the party’s conference, saying such a move would not be possible until Good Friday, which includes a requirement to incorporate the ECHR into Northern Ireland law. Some say it violates the agreement.
Last month, peers voted against the government for adding seven amendments to the Rwanda Security Bill, another setback for the government. That means Mr Sunak’s flagship bill could be delayed until the summer.
In an interview on Wednesday, Mr Sunak insisted the government was “planning” to implement the Rwanda policy once the bill had overcome opposition in the House of Lords, denying reports that no airlines were willing to accept asylum seekers. did. An explorer to a country in central Africa.
He also defended his broad-based approach to small craft, saying he had done “more than any other prime minister in history” to tackle the problem.
After a fall accident at an intersection last year, More than 5,000 people traveled in the first three months of this yearThis surpassed the previous record set in 2022.
Mr Sunak said: What are we doing to Albania? This accounted for one-third of the number of shipments from the year before last.
“I have negotiated a new agreement with Albania. It is clear that it is a safe country. If someone comes here illegally, we can send them back.
“Then we sent thousands of people back to Albania, and what happened? They stopped coming. Now we have to recreate it.”
Mr Sunak has elsewhere defended his decision to hold a US green card while a Conservative MP and minister, saying he was lobbied by someone at his father-in-law’s tech company Infosys on immigration policy issues. He denied that he had ever done so.