United States President Joe Biden has waded into the row over the UK’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Biden’s administration is said to be “concerned” the policy could undermine the peace process in Northern Ireland, White House officials have said. It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says his government will not allow a foreign court to block deportation flights.
Earlier this month his migration scheme was dealt a blow when the Supreme Court ruled it violated British and international law. The PM said he was “prepared to do what is necessary” to deliver the policy.
This, he says, includes passing emergency legislation to block further challenges to the policy. This includes any threats posed by the European Convention on Human Rights [ECHR].
However, Sunak’s plan to send asylum seekers to the African nation has attracted the attention of White House bosses. They are said to be concerned it could have implications for the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), which is underpinned by the ECHR.
The president wants to ensure any reworked legislation does not undermine the peace deal, reports The Telegraph. Biden’s team are said to be “all keeping an eye on Northern Ireland” as the PM ploughs ahead with the policy, said the New York Times.
Politicians in Ireland are said to have lobbied the White House over concerns Britain could pull out of the ECHR. Some senior Conservatives have echoed these concerns, warning it could damage Britain’s relationship with the USA.
Former minister and chairman of the justice select committee, Sir Bob Neill, told The Guardian he had similar concerns. He said: We have known for a long time that laws such as the European Convention on Human Rights are a central part of the Good Friday Agreement. Anything that undermines the Good Friday Agreement would be really dangerous for the peace process.”
Meanwhile, a government minister told the newspaper: “This agreement is fundamental to our place in the world. We all know what it means to Joe Biden”
The Prime Minister has come underfire from some backbenchers who want Parliament’s “sovereign will” to take precedence over the ECHR if needs be. But United States officials are believed to be cocnerned by comments from some Tories, including former Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
The recently departed minister said Britain should withdraw from the ECHR to deliver the promose to reduce migration and stop Channel crossings. Her successor James Cleverly has however acknowledged leaving the ECHR would undermine the attempts to stop the boats.
While British officials are said to be aware of the White House concerns, no issues have arisen since the Supreme Court’s Rwanda ruling. The New York Times even claims the White House officials expressed a curiosity into the policy as they battle their own rising immigration levels.
It is also not the first time the Biden administration has raised concerns about the GFA. The president, who often says he has Irish heritage, has also highlighted the importance of the peace deal in a post-Brexit world.
He is said to have seen Brexit as a threat to the peace process because of a possible hard border in Ireland. And, when marking the 25th anniversary of the GFA, Biden said he travelled to a ceremony in Ireland to make sure “the Brits didn’t screw around”.
The US State Department did not comment on the possibility of Britain withdrawing from the ECHR when approached by the NYT. But stressed its “priority remains protecting the gains” of the Good Friday Agreement.
