The judgment may be a setback, but it is certainly not an insurmountable obstacle. It is open to Ministers to respond to the Supreme Court’s concerns and move urgently to implement this important policy.
The Home Secretary declared that “our country has become enmeshed international rules that were designed for another era. Labour turbocharged their impact by passing the misnamed Human Rights Act. I am surprised they didn’t call it the Criminal Rights Act.”
The Conservative Party seems to be allergic to *doing things*, whether that be building houses, securing a cheap and plentiful supply of energy, prosecuting and locking up criminals, or securing our borders.
They have been introduced in response to backbench pressure – with the Government seeming to accept the argument that the Bill as introduced was vulnerable to litigation. Parliament should accept them, but should be aware that some risks remain.
The European Court of Human Rights seems unlikely to block the Rwanda policy outright, but it could try to foul it up until after the next election.
The Prime Minister must make up his mind whether or not to see through a policy to stop the small boats – now an issue of profound symbolic importance.
Take the case of a Nigerian national who was sentenced in 2016 to four years in prison for offences including possessing crack cocaine and heroin with the intention to supply. The First-tier Tribunal allowed his appeal against deportation on grounds deportation was irreconcilable with Article 8.
The new leader should review the Government’s current plans and focus limited time and political capital where it counts.
It seems to fall between two stools: neither a tight technical update of the existing system, nor a fundamental overhaul.
Voters want the government to focus on reducing the cost of living, keeping a lid on the wage-price spiral, and, because of the war, national security.
Our commitment to the rule of law is undiminished, but the Human Rights Act is a flawed vehicle which needs reform.
The Court has simply made up its jurisdiction to provide interim relief. More specific to this case, it had no proper application before it.
The Attorney General on judges, Asian values, Spartans, the Good Law Project, Lord Frost – and why the Tories should revive the torch logo.
It’s best thought of as a contagion that spreads across the divide between parties and factions.
At the end of the day, people will only stop coming here illegally when they know that they cannot stay, will be detained and quickly removed to a safe third country.