Suella Braverman has been accused of acting as a “sock puppet” for the Tory right, as she is expected to toughen up the legislation aimed at cracking down on migrants arriving in small boats.
The home secretary is considering changes to head off a rebellion by up to 60 Tory MPs on the right who want to stop British judges following decisions made by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
One Tory amendment would block judges in Strasbourg court from granting injunctions to stop deportations, while others would seek to limit the scope of relevant parts of the European convention on human rights.
One senior Tory MP involved in the amendments told The Independent that the group were encouraged by talks with ministers that the bill could soon be tightened to allow ministers and British judges to ignore ECHR injunctions.
“We’re working closely together on reaching a position,” they said. “I’m very optimistic. We want the bill galvanised against challenge [by the ECHR]. There is a room for compromise here.”
The MP added: “We could have pushed to end all involvement with the European courts and leave the convention. But that’s not a battle anyone wants at the moment.”
Tory MP Martin Vickers, who has backed the amendments, told The Independent: “We’ve got to have much more rigorous control over our immigration. So we’re trying to limit the power European court judges intervening on these matters.”
Rebel Tory MP Danny Kruger – another leading figure behind the amendments – told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme discussions were ongoing. He said he hoped the bill could allow for the deportation of small boat arrivals to “operate notwithstanding any orders of the Strasbourg court or any other international body”.
Home Office minister Chris Philp stressed that Ms Braverman is “discussing these various amendments with members of parliament”, adding that she was “in listening mode as always”.
Senior government figures reportedly believe the home secretary supports the rebel push to stop British judges using legal precedent from Strasbourg when considering deportation cases.
“She wants to use it to spook us to offer concessions to get them to drop their amendments because a big rebellion would be embarrassing,” one told The Times. “She has basically become a sock puppet for the right.”
But a source close to Ms Braverman said the claim was “totally untrue”, adding: “The people spreading scurrilous rumours like this about the home secretary should reconsider and refrain.”
Home secretary Suella Braverman under pressure to chaneg bill
In 2022, the European Court of Human Rights granted an injunction – via its rule 39 – that effectively grounded a flight sending asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda.
Ms Braverman said on her recent trip to Rwanda that she was “encouraged” by “constructive” talks with Strasbourg. The government has requested a higher threshold for any rule 39 injunction on attempted deportation flights.
But Ms Braverman is thought to be considering inserting a new clause into the bill banning rule 39 orders from applying in the UK if exemptions can’t be negotiated with the Strasbourg court.
Tory moderates fear the Strasbourg court cannot be defied without breaching the breaching the UK’s obligation to uphold the European Convention of Human Rights.
Senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood told The Independent that Ms Braverman should ignore the push from the right. “There is simply no way this bill will secure parliamentary support unless it’s fully compliant with international laws, including our commitments to the ECHR.”
Asked about speaking to Tory MPs seeking to toughen the bill, Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said: “We will keep seeking to speak constructively with MPs … We do want MPs to be involved in the process of creating legislation.”
Others on the liberal wing want to see Rishi Sunak and Ms Braverman commit to establishing new, authorised safe routes via which asylum seekers can come to Britain.
Sunak and Braverman were heckled during visit to Chelmsford on Monday
An amendment proposed by Tim Loughton MP, which calls for new safe and legal route to be added to the bill, is understood to have the support of Labour. The moderates are optimistic Mr Sunak will announce a new “global” refugee route developed with the UN’s refugee agency.
Mr Loughton said on Monday that Ms Braverman is “certainly nobody’s puppet”, telling BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme: “I have absolutely no evidence of that.”
Asked about right-wing efforts to toughen the bill on Strasbourg court challenges, the home affairs select committee chair said: “I think this is a pretty tough bill as it is. It’s going to face a lot of challenges going through parliament and potentially legal challenges.”
Under plans reported by The Telegraph, MPs would vote on an annual cap on the number of refugees after councils are consulted about accommodation, with a plan to welcome about 20,000 a year initially.
However, Mr Philp played down suggestions that the government could establish more safe and legal routes for asylum seekers as part of the bill.
The Home Office minister told LBC: “This country has a lot of safe and legal routes established already. In terms of creating more, my own view is that we should fix the illegal immigration problem first, stop the boats … and then we can add in these additional and safe and legal routes.”
Moderate Tories are also trying to win support for their own amendments aimed at creating stronger protections against child detention.
Campaigners and MPs from across the House have condemned a move in the bill allowing the detention of children – reversing a ban introduced by the David Cameron-led coalition government a decade ago.
Equalities committee chair Caroline Nokes has shared her “absolute horror” at the reversal, while former justice secretary Robert Buckland said the government “shouldn’t be locking children up – it’s not right”.
It comes as Labour propose an amendment that would force the Sunak government to offer a framework for a new asylum returns deal with EU states within three months of the bill passing.
The Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, Dunja Mijatovic, warned MPs and peers to uphold international obligations ahead of the latest debate on the bill.
In a letter to the Commons and Lords, the commissioner said “the bill’s provisions create clear and direct tension with well-established and fundamental human rights standards”.
She said the bill lacked a guarantee that objections to deportation would be assessed in accordance with the European convention on human rights.
