Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has pledged to “stop the boats in their entirety” ahead of next year’s general election.
Jenrick has also said the Rwanda plan must go ahead with “no ifs, no buts” after former Home Secretary Suella Braverman was sacked by Rishi Sunak. He did however admit the plans to clampdown on boats arriving in England could struggle should the Rwanda plan be deemed unlawful.
Speaking to The Telegraph, he said: “Be assured that as a prudent Government, we have been thinking through what further steps we could take.
“I worked closely with the former home secretary on various options. But at the heart of this is the deep conviction that you have to inject deterrence into the system.
“We must ensure the Rwanda policy succeeds before the next general election. No ifs, no buts, we will do whatever it takes to ensure that happens.”
The Supreme Court is due to have its say on the Rwanda plan on Wednesday. Last month, the Home Office challenged a Court of Appeal ruling from June that the multimillion-pound deal was unlawful.
The Illegal Migration Act brought into law the Government’s policy of sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda. However, the policy announced in April 2022 has been held up in the courts, with no deportation flights having taken place.
The first planned flight to Rwanda in June 2022 was grounded minutes before take-off following a ruling by a judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. As a result, Mr Jenrick has not ruled out the UK’s exit from the European Convention on Human Rights.
He told the Telegraph that if the Government’s Supreme Court challenge fails, he has “been clear that we have to do whatever it takes” to make stopping the boats a reality.
Braverman was replaced as Home Secretary by James Cleverly on Monday. It led to the PM bringing back David Cameron to take over the role as Foreign Secretary.
Cameron had been away from front-line politics for seven years since stepping down as the MP for Witney. He will serve as Foreign Secretary from the House of Lords.
