Mr Francois wrote for The Telegraph: “What would Margaret have done? As a former barrister, I suspect she would never have allowed such a defective draft in the first place. She would have ensured that the legislation was legally watertight, even if this was in the face of internal opposition from her own Cabinet and European judges.”
The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, just 12 pages long, is the Government’s attempt to make sure its plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is as legally watertight as possible after the Supreme Court ruled it unlawful last month.
On Monday, the Tory Right’s “star chamber” concluded that, by allowing asylum seekers to legally challenge deportation if they are at risk of “serious and irreparable harm” most flights may not be off the ground even months after the Bill passes.
The “star chamber” advises the ERG, the Conservative Growth Group, the New Conservatives, the Northern Research Group and the Common Sense Group.
But the UK Government’s legal advice warned against closing the path for some individual legal challenges, insisting that doing so would mean the UK was breaking its European Convention of Human Rights commitments.
One line of the legal advice summary read: “Completely blocking any court challenges would be a breach of international law and alien to the UK’s constitutional tradition of liberty and justice, where even in wartime the UK has maintained access to the courts in order that individuals can uphold their rights and freedoms.”
While some of the leaders of the Tory groups considering voting against the legislation commented on it on Monday, few revealed categorically how their members were being urged to vote.
Some Tory MPs may choose to abstain on Tuesday’s second reading vote, keeping back any rebellion for later legislative stages when amendments can be tabled.
‘Major surgery’ needed
A spokesman for the New Conservatives, a group that met Mr Sunak on Monday morning, said 40 MPs had agreed that “the Bill needs major surgery or replacement”.
Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, and Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister, are understood to have been among them.
A senior source said: “The Government needs to guarantee they will table amendments to the Bill which answer the flaws its critics have identified, or else they aren’t providing any good reason for those who consider it won’t work to vote for it tomorrow – and defeat for the Government becomes a real possibility.”
But Damian Green, the chairman of the One Nation caucus, which has 106 Tory MPs on its Whatsapp group, announced that its MP backers would be urged to vote for the Bill. He said: “We have taken the decision that the most important thing at this stage is to support the Bill despite our real concerns.
“We strongly urge the Government to stand firm against any attempt to amend the Bill in a way that would make it unacceptable to those who believe that support for the rule of law is a basic Conservative principle.”
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
