Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailHome secretary James Cleverly has hailed yet another deal with Rwanda as the way to rescue the government’s thwarted plan to stop the boats – only for it to be denounced as a “gross political fantasy”. The embattled cabinet minister said there was now no credible legal reason for the policy to continue to be blocked after he flew to Kigali to sign a new treaty.But Mr Cleverly still could not guarantee flights will depart next spring, as Rishi Sunak hopes, as he became the third minister in less than two years to sign an agreement with the African nation.Tory MPs warned they would examine new emergency legislation on Rwanda – due to be published within days to determine the country is a safe destination – to ensure planes carrying asylum seekers take off. It came as the prime minister faces a major Commons revolt from two sides of his party over the planned new law. MPs on the right of the party are pushing the PM to use it to opt out of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) – warning he must go for the “full fat” version to stop judges intervening. Home secretary James Cleverly arrives at Kigali International AirportBut senior Tory moderates are also warning Mr Sunak they may not support his legislation if he does try to flout the ECHR, arguing that it would be “a mistake” that doesn’t command public support. As the treaty was unveiled, it emerged that: Asylum seekers sent to Rwanda who go on to commit serious crimes while there could end up back in the UK UK taxpayers will have to pay more on top of the £140m already spent on a scheme which has yet to send a single asylum seeker to the east-central African country The UK will take some of Rwanda’s refugees under the plans, a measure contained in the original agreementRwanda will still have a veto over which asylum seekers it accepts Those sent there will be offered support and accommodation by the UK for five years Under the treaty, they will not be sent on to a third country, such as the one from which they fled – the main criticism of the Supreme Court – and will stay in Rwanda Mr Sunak announced the new treaty – and the emergency legislation – in the wake of a damning Supreme Court judgment which ruled his plans unlawful.In the Rwandan capital, Mr Cleverly praised the new deal, saying: “We feel very strongly this treaty addresses all of the issues of their lordships in the Supreme Court.”But he could not guarantee when the first flight of asylum seekers would take off.The home secretary added: “We want to see this part of our wider migration plan up and running as quickly as possible.” James Cleverly during Tuesday’s press conference in Kigali Under the treaty, those sent to Rwanda will stay there, no matter the outcome of their asylum application. The Supreme Court had warned that under the previous system, vulnerable refugees risked being erroneously sent back to the countries from which they had fled, where they would face persecution. But the court also questioned whether undertakings given by Rwanda could be relied upon. Also included in the treaty are plans for UK lawyers to be sent to Rwanda to help process claims and ensure appeals are granted correctly. An independent monitoring committee will assess the processing of asylum claims and the treatment and support for individuals for up to five years. It will also establish a new whistleblowing system to allow asylum seekers sent to Rwanda to lodge confidential complaints.Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper accused Mr Cleverly of being the third home secretary in 18 months to take a trip to Rwanda “for a photo op”. Priti Patel signed the initial deal last April while his predecessor, Suella Braverman, visited Kigali earlier this year. “More home secretaries than asylum seekers have been sent there and the scheme is badly failing,” Ms Cooper said. “We know … even if it ever does get off the ground, it will only cover a very small number of people when over 1,000 people arrived in small boats last week alone.”The government’s former top lawyer Jonathan Jones questioned whether ministers were really as confident as they suggested.He said: “If the government were really confident that the treaty did the trick and Rwanda will now be “safe”, it could be confident of winning any further court challenge and wouldn’t need to change the law as well.But the government has said it will table a Bill which will likely tell the courts that Rwanda is now to be treated as “safe” for the purposes of asylum claims.”Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “It was obvious that this policy was destined to fail from the beginning, and this couldn’t have been made any clearer than the Supreme Court ruling.“The Conservatives have already spent far too much time, energy and money on this failing policy. It’s time for James Cleverly to get serious and get on with fixing the broken asylum system. “Tackling the sky-high asylum backlog and creating safe and legal routes for sanctuary will make far more progress towards that than this pet project policy ever could.”Prime minister Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda plans are being closely watched by his MPsThe Law Society of England and Wales was sceptical about Mr Cleverly’s assurances, saying it “remains unclear” how the treaty will overcome the Supreme Court ruling based on a “well-established principle of international law”.Nick Emmerson, the president of the professional association representing solicitors, argued that neither the deal nor new legislation “can overnight provide adequate means of safeguarding the rights of people removed to Rwanda”.Steve Valdez-Symonds, from Amnesty International, said: “With this treaty, ministers are once again doubling down on a fundamentally reckless policy of not processing asylum claims made in the UK – even while expecting other countries to deal with the asylum claims they receive. “The policy of not processing claims has already created a massive, costly and inhuman backlog, in which tens of thousands of people are now simply stuck in limbo.“The gross political fantasy that Rwanda can simply receive these people from the UK is utterly immoral, wholly impractical and sets a terrible example on the world stage.” Enver Solomon, from the Refugee Council, said: “It’s time for the government to admit that the Rwanda plan just isn’t the right way forward. Instead, we need to develop a fair and compassionate approach to refugee protection that focuses on providing safe routes and a fair hearing for those seeking safety in the UK.”Last month, former Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption accused the government of trying to “change the facts by law” by declaring Rwanda safe. He also said the scheme was “probably dead”. More

James Cleverly has signed a new treaty with Rwanda in an attempt to overcome the legal block on the government’s policy of sending asylum seekers to the African country.The foreign secretary arrived in Kigali on Tuesday 5 December and told reporters that the deal “addressed” the issues raised by the Supreme Court last month.“Rwanda has now established a strong reputation for the humane and professional administration of refugees and migrants,” Mr Cleverly added.He has also insisted his new legally binding treaty with Rwanda addresses all of the reasons that caused the Supreme Court to deem the government’s flagship asylum policy unlawful. More

Home Secretary James Cleverly has signed a fresh treaty with Rwanda to help get Rishi Sunak’s thwarted asylum deal off the ground.He traveled to Kigali, Rwanda, to sign the agreement on Tuesday 5 December, in a bid to make the deal legally watertight after the Supreme Court ruled it unlawful in November.Domestic legislation is also planned so Parliament can state that Rwanda is a safe destination for asylum seekers arriving in Britain.Details on what the final treaty contains are unconfirmed. More

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsWatch as foreign secretary David Cameron takes his first questions from peers in the House of Lords on Tuesday (5 December).Lord Cameron’s first session came as home secretary James Cleverly arrived in Rwanda to sign a new treaty to help revive the Government’s stalled asylum deal.Support for Ukraine and future relations with the EU are among the issues he will be grilled on as he faces his first monthly question time as foreign secretary in the House of Lords.The situation in Belarus and Afghanistan is also to be raised with the Cabinet minister by peers.Lord Cameron cannot appear before the House of Commons because he is not an elected MP, which has fuelled concerns about democratic accountability. Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell will deputise for him in the Commons, while he will answer questions in the upper chamber each month.The first question on Ukraine was due to be asked by Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, a former Nato secretary general.Lord Cameron was also expected to be pressed over the future UK relationship with Brussels by former Labour MP Baroness Hoey, a Brexit supporter who sits as a non-affiliated peer. The return of the former prime minister as foreign secretary and his call for the UK to be a “friend, a neighbour and the best possible partner” for the EU has caused unease among some Brexiteers. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailHome secretary James Cleverly has signed a new treaty with Rwanda in a bid to rescue Rishi Sunak’s thwarted deportation plan.Emergency legislation is also planned soon, as Mr Sunak tries to assert that Rwanda is a safe country to send migrants arriving on small boats.But senior Tories on the right are plotting a rebellion and are pushing the PM to opt out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – warning that it’s “three strikes and you’re out” after previous attempts to get Rwanda flights started failed.The Independent understands a group of around 35 MPs in the hardline New Conservatives group reportedly met with other colleagues on the right on Monday night to discuss whether to vote against Mr Sunak’s legislation if it is not deemed tough enough.It poses a real threat to Mr Sunak’s plans – since only around 25 to 30 Tory MPs would be needed to vote with the opposition to defeat his ‘plan B’ legislation.Mr Cleverly travelled to Kigali on Tuesday, as the PM attempts to make his plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda legally sound after the Supreme Court’s ruling against the policy.Legal experts and charities believe the attempt to get flights started before the 2024 election will fail – with the government’s own lawyers said to be pessimistic about efforts to get around human rights law.Mr Cleverly, who met his counterpart Vincent Biruta to sign the treaty, hopes the upgraded agreement, which gives it the status of international law, will address the problems that led the UK’s highest court to rule the “offshoring” deportation scheme unlawful.But in Kigali, Mr Cleverly could not guarantee the first flight of asylum seekers to Rwanda will take off in the spring. as the government aims.James Cleverly meets British High Commissioner to Rwanda, Omar Daair The home secretary said: “We want to see this part of our wider migration plan up and running as quickly as possible. We feel very strongly this treaty addresses all of the issues of their lordships in the Supreme Court.”He said he could not see any credible reason” to question Rwanda’s track record, adding the planned new domestic legislation would come “soon”.UK lawyers are to be sent to Rwanda to help process claims and ensure appeals are granted correctly. But the Kigali government is unlikely to accept any arrangement which would look like colonial-style legal interference.Ministers said the new treaty would ensure those relocated to Rwanda are not at risk of being sent back to countries they have fled – an act known as refoulement – including through a new appeal body.An independent monitoring committee will assess the processing of asylum claims and the treatment and support for individuals for up to 5 years. It will also establish a new whistleblowing system to allow asylum seekers sent to Rwanda to lodge confidential complaints.James Cleverly and Rwandan foreign minister Vincent BirutaJohn Hayes MP, sacked home secretary Suella Braverman’s mentor, is demanding that the Tory leader opt out of the ECHR in its emergency Rwanda legislation.“We need severe measures. It important to get those flights off to Rwanda – so we need to be really tough,” the leader of the Tories’ Commons Sense Group told The Independent.Senior Tory Mark Francois also warned Mr Sunak that it could be “three strikes and you’re out” – urging the PM to to ignore the ECHR in the emergency Rwanda legislation. He told GB News: “Rishi promised to stop the boats but … he hasn’t has he? We’ve had two goes before. Now it’s three strikes and you’re out”.Immigration minister Robert Jenrick claimed that he is confident Rwanda flights will take off before the general election – as he described illegal migrants as having “broken into” the UK.The Supreme Court ruling has a major impact on Rishi Sunak’s promise to ‘stop the boats’The hardline cabinet minister said “it’s profoundly wrong” for people to be entering the UK illegally on small boats, telling Sky News: “If you or I crossed an international border, or literally broke into another country, we would expect to be treated very seriously.”Mr Jenrick said the emergency legislation would be set out in parliament “shortly” after Mr Cleverly signs the new treaty. However, senior civil servants at the Home Office are said to have warned No 10 that its Rwanda legislation is destined to fail.Government lawyers are reportedly refusing to sanction the most draconian version, that would opt out of the ECHR by using a “notwithstanding” clause to direct UK judges to ignore it in asylum cases.Tory moderate Sir Robert Buckland warned that opting out of the ECHR would be “foolish and rash” and would endanger the Good Friday Agreement. He told the BBC it would be “a very un-Conservative step”.Sacked home secretary Suella Braverman visisted Rwanda in April The Law Society’s president Nick Emmerson said: “The suggestion of stationing British lawyers in Rwanda implies a lack of confidence in how cases would be handled there …. The government needs to admit the scheme is likely beyond repair.”The Freedom from Torture campaign group said the it was “shameful” to strike a new treaty with Rwanda after the Supreme Court ruled the scheme unlawful. “No amount of tinkering will change the fundamental fact that this ‘cash for humans’ deal is immoral … it needs to be shelved once and for all,” they said.Former Boris Johnson adviser Dominic Cummings said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the Rwanda “trick” was never supposed to happen. “But because Tory-SW1 world is so insane, Boris’s trick to divert them has actually worked far better than he planned.”There has been speculation that Rwanda is pushing for more money on top of the £140m already committed. The Sunday Times reported that Kigali is to be given a £15m top-up payment. But No 10 has insisted there had been no demand for extra money from Rwanda.It comes as a new poll Redfield & Wilton Strategies found that more people who voted for the Tories in 2019 plan to support Reform UK than Labour. Some 15 per cent plan to ditch the Conservatives for the hard right party, while only 13 per cent will go to Labour, the survey found.In a bid to cut record-high net migration, Mr Cleverly increased the salary threshold for foreign workers from £26,200 to £38,700 as part of a package set to come into force in April.The measures announced on Monday also banned overseas social care staff from bringing dependants to the UK and the rule allowing the most-needed professions to be hired at 20 per cent below the going rate would also be scrapped.Mr Jenrick has said more measures could be required to bring down legal migration. “You’re right to say that more things may need to be done, but without question this is a big step forward,” he told GB News on Tuesday.In remarks sure to raise eyebrows, the immigration minister also said there would be “merits” to introducing an annual, “Australia-style” cap on net migration – a move demanded by Ms Braverman. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailBoris Johnson faces a mammoth task to salvage his reputation as he finally appears before Covid inquiry this week.The former prime minister is expected to apologise for “unquestionably” making mistakes in his government’s handling of the pandemic in two marathon evidence sessions on Wednesday and Thursday.However, Mr Johnson is also set to argue that his controversial decisions ended up saving “tens if not hundreds of thousands of lives”.It comes after an explosive two months at the inquiry, which heard Mr Johnson was “obsessed with older people accepting their fate” and dying from the virus; entrusted his top adviser Dominic Cummings with too much power; and wanted to “let the bodies pile high” to avoid imposing a second Covid lockdown.The former PM was also referred to as the “trolley” for his chaotic decision-making by “pretty much everyone” during the pandemic, while he dubbed the Treasury the “pro-death squad” because it wanted to ease lockdown restrictions.As we hear from the man in charge of the UK’s Covid response, I’m on hand to answer any of your questions about the former prime minister and the Covid inquiry.Is Mr Johnson coming across well? How does his evidence play politically? And how is the timing of his appearance significant for the Tory party?Also, what’s next for Boris – could he ever return to frontline politics?And perhaps most importantly, what are the consequences of the inquiry for Mr Johnson and his former cabinet?If you have a question for me, submit it now, or when I join you live at 11am on Thursday 5 December for the “Ask Me Anything” event.Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments section to leave your question. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they may be hidden until I join the conversation to answer them. Then join us live on this page at 11am as I tackle as many questions as I can. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch again as James Cleverly holds a press conference in Rwanda on Tuesday 5 December, after he signed a fresh treaty with the nation, amid efforts to get the government’s stalled asylum deal off the ground.The home secretary has travelled to Kigali as Rishi Sunak bids to make the plan to send migrants to the African nation legally watertight after the Supreme Court’s ruling against the policy.Domestic legislation, which will be rushed through parliament to assert Rwanda is a safe destination for asylum seekers who arrive in Britain, is also planned.Mr Cleverly met his counterpart, Vincent Biruta, to sign the treaty and discuss key next steps on the so-called migration and economic development partnership.He also visited the genocide memorial in Kigali on Tuesday morning, during his first overseas visit as home secretary.Ministers hope the upgraded agreement, along with “emergency” legislation at home, will address the issues that led the UK’s highest court to rule the Rwanda scheme unlawful.“We are clear that Rwanda is a safe country, and we are working at pace to move forward with this partnership to stop the boats and save lives,” Mr Cleverly said before his arrival. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailImmigration minister Robert Jenrick has suggested he would like to see a fresh crackdown to cut net migration levels after his boss James Cleverly announced a package of curbs.Home secretary unveiled a five-point plan in the Commons aimed at cutting the number of people coming to the UK by around 300,000.But Mr Jenrick – seen as a hardline ally of sacked home secretary Suella Braverman – said further measures may be needed to bring numbers down, and there are “merits” in imposing an absolute cap on visas.Ms Braverman has called for an “Australia-style” cap on annual migrant numbers, as she responded to the Cleverly plan as “too late” and pushed Rishi Sunak to “go further”.Asked if a cap on numbers is a good idea, Mr Jenrick told Times Radio: “There are merits to ideas like that. But what matters now is action … I’ve been very clear, that people are sick of talk on this topic.”On GB News, the immigration minister said “more things may need to be done – but without question this is a big step forward”.In a bid to win back voters, Mr Cleverly increased the salary threshold for foreign workers from £26,200 to £38,700 as part of a package set to come into force in April.In a surprise move, the minimum income for family visas was also raised to the new salary threshold of £38,700.He also banned overseas social care staff from bringing dependants to the UK, and the rule allowing the most-needed professions to be hired at 20 per cent below the going rate would also be scrapped.Robert Jenrick is believed to have pushed for hardline reforms Business leaders warned of major staffing crises in hospitality and social care ahead. Labour accused the Tories of “chaotic panic”, while union leaders claimed the PM was “playing roulette with essential services” to placate the right.Mr Jenrick said on Tuesday that achieving greater social cohesion and national unity in the UK is impossible unless levels of immigration can be brought under control.He also suggested that being able to deliver on commitments to cut immigration is a “matter of trust” for the Tory party – trailing Labour in the polls in the run up to next year’s general election.“We want to reduce pressure on housing and public services, and also to build a more socially cohesive and united country, which is difficult – I would argue impossible – when such large numbers of people are coming into the country,” Mr Jenrick told Sky News.He also told Times Radio: “I have argued for this package of measures, that we have to meet our manifesto commitment, and that is a matter of trust and ensuring that the democratic will of the public.”Rishi Sunak is under pressure to cut both legal and illegal migration Unison general secretary Christina McAnea – who accused Mr Sunak of “playing roulette with essential services just to placate its backbenchers and the far right” – warned that some foreign workers in the UK will now leave.“What do you think’s going to happen?” she told the BBC World at One programme. “To those who are already here, who do have dependents when they come to renew their visa, presumably they will be told you have to send your children back again.”On Tuesday, the Home Office and No 10 clarified that those earning less than the £38,700 when they came to the UK on a skilled workers’ visa would not be asked to leave when the changes come into force in April.Dependents who arrived in the UK on a family visa before the new threshold of £38,700 for family income kicks in from April will not be asked to leave either.However, it is not yet clear whether overseas workers or dependents who do not meet the threshold when they come renew their visa will be allowed to stay in the UK.Reunite Familes UK – which helps migrants bring loved ones to Britain – said they were “beyond devastated” at the changes.Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory, said the move to raise the family visa income threshold to £38,700 would restrict some people “very significantly”.Mr Sunak echoed Mr Cleverly in declaring “enough is enough” as he promised to “get control of immigration once and for all”. Writing in The Sun, the PM said there is “far too much abuse of our system”.Health secretary Victoria Atkins defended the migration reforms in the Commons on Tuesday. Asked if she was worried about the impact overseas recruitment in social care, she said: “What we need to do is to tackle the migration rate that is too high.”Ms Atkins said: “The package as presented by the government yesterday is a thoughtful and careful package to tackle legal migration.” More