The prime minister’s claims are incorrect
Rishi Sunak said he welcomed the High Court ruling, calling it a “common sense position” that was supported by “the vast majority of the British public”.
However, recently polling from YouGov has found that the majority – 72% – of the public do not agree with the policy. And 73% of people said they were unhappy that the system was being run in ‘an incompetent’ or ‘chaotic’ manner.
Robert Jenrick, a Home Office minister, called the policy ‘world leading’ in the House of Commons yesterday. Despite it being found to be legal by the courts, the UN has condemned the policy.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had previously told the court that Rwanda “lacks irreducible minimum components of an accessible, reliable, fair and efficient asylum system” and that the policy would lead to a serious risk of breaches of the Refugee Convention.
There is no evidence to suggest it will stop small boats, but it will extend people’s suffering
Speaking about the policy, Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said: “Ministers have already written a £140m cheque to Rwanda without the policy even starting, with millions more promised even though Home Office officials say there’s no evidence it’ll provide a deterrent and it risks making trafficking worse.”
Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, echoed the YouGov findings in a statement made to parliament following the ruling. Lucas said that the government’s claim of it being a “deterrent approach” would not stop the suffering of people seeking asylum and called the government “vile”.
