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The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

Charities hit out at Sunak’s renewed Rwanda bid

 

The Supreme Court had ruled in favour of an appeal by campaigners.

Charities have hit out at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after his government announced fresh plans to remove asylum seekers to Rwanda less than a day after the Supreme Court ruled the plan unlawful. 

Mr Sunak said he will introduce emergency legislation on the Rwanda asylum plan, which would see the country ruled to be “safe” to allow passage of asylum seekers. 

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of an appeal by charities and campaign groups, with judges saying that there was a "real risk" people could be sent back to places they fled from. 

Charities celebrated the judgement, but are already mobilising against a new effort to offload asylum seekers to the African country. 

CEO of refugee charity Care4Calais, Steve Smith, said: “There is a title for political leaders who override the rule of law - dictators.

“Rishi Sunak is now a British Prime Minister who is disrespecting the supremacy of the Supreme Court in UK law. All in the name of a cruel and immoral policy that is not only unlawful in UK domestic law but does not comply with a host of International treaties to which the UK is a proud party to.

“The reality behind the Prime Minister’s so-called new plan is that rather than ending what he himself admits is a ‘merry-go-round’ on Rwanda, he is getting back on it with the added layer of Parliamentary approval for any emergency legislation, including the requirement for it to pass in the House of Lords.

“It couldn’t be clearer. Any emergency legislation, even if it receives Parliamentary approval, would be subject to a legal challenge in UK domestic courts. The quicker the Prime Minister accepts this inhumane and unlawful policy is dead, the sooner we can fix the real problems in the UK’s asylum system so that it once again offers protection to those fleeing conflict, persecution, torture and modern slavery.”

 

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