The UK government says it is committed to ending cross-Channel migrant boats despite a recent court pronouncement that ruled its Rwanda policy to be unlawful.
The home secretary, Suella Braverman told MPs she would do “whatever it takes to stop the boats.”
Her remarks came after the Court of Appeal ruled that the plan to send asylum seekers to the African country could violate human rights.
The home secretary told Members of the Parliaments that she respected the judgement, but emphasised it was “disappointing” and that the government would file an appeal.
She said “abuse” of the asylum system was “unfair” on local communities, taxpayers and “those who play by the rules”.
The UK top official added that it “incentivises mass flows of economic migration into Europe, lining the pockets of people smugglers and turning our seas into graveyards, all in the name of a phoney humanitarianism”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also saod he accepts the court’s verdict but will do “whatever is necessary” to thwart criminal organizations controlling small boat crossings.
Labour says the plan is “unethical” and Ms Braverman is “ramping up rhetoric”, according to the BBC.
The idea to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda was initially announced in April 2022 as an attempt to discourage small boat crossings over the English Channel.
The move has faced multiple legal challenges, the most recent at the Court of Appeal, when judges found that Rwanda had not given adequate measures to demonstrate that it is a “safe third country.”
In its response to the judgement, the Rwandan government asserted that it was “one of the safest countries in the world” and had been praised for its “exemplary treatment of refugees.”