Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has said the Government’s Rwanda deportation plans will go through with “no ifs, no buts”.
In the wake of Suella Braverman being sacked as home secretary, Mr Jenrick told the Telegraph the Government aims to “stop the boats in their entirety” by next year’s general election.
He said: “Be assured that as a prudent Government, we have been thinking through what further steps we could take.
We must ensure the Rwanda policy succeeds before the next general election. No ifs, no buts, we will do whatever it takes to ensure that happens— Robert Jenrick
“I worked closely with the former home secretary on various options. But at the heart of this is the deep conviction that you have to inject deterrence into the system.
“We must ensure the Rwanda policy succeeds before the next general election. No ifs, no buts, we will do whatever it takes to ensure that happens.”
He did concede the Government would struggle to achieve its goal of stopping the boats if their plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda were deemed unlawful.
The Supreme Court is to give its decision on whether the Government’s plans are lawful on Wednesday.
Last month, the Home Office challenged a Court of Appeal ruling from June that the multimillion-pound deal was unlawful.
The Illegal Migration Act brought into law the Government’s policy of sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
However, the policy announced in April 2022 has been held up in the courts, with no deportation flights having taken place.
The first planned flight to Rwanda in June 2022 was grounded minutes before take-off following a ruling by a judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
As a result, Mr Jenrick has not ruled out the UK’s exit from the European Convention on Human Rights.
He told the Telegraph that if the Government’s Supreme Court challenge fails, he has “been clear that we have to do whatever it takes” to make stopping the boats a reality.
