Cleverly 'determined' to get removal flight to Rwanda before general election

Source: The Guardian

Cleverly ‘determined’ to get removal flight to Rwanda before general election

Home secretary says legally binding treaty will be drafted ‘within days’ despite policy being ruled unlawful

Emily Dugan
@emilydugan
Thu 16 Nov 2023 09.08 GMT
First published on Thu 16 Nov 2023 09.07 GMT

Ministers are “absolutely determined” to get a removal flight to Rwanda off before the next election, and will finish drafting a legally binding treaty with the country “within days”, the home secretary, James Cleverly, has said, after the policy was ruled unlawful.

Cleverly, who was made home secretary in the reshuffle earlier this week, said the controversial policy was already having “a deterrent effect” on people smugglers.

Speaking to broadcasters after the supreme court’s rejection of the government’s plans to deport people seeking asylum to Rwanda, Cleverly said the government was committed to the idea.

Rishi Sunak and many Conservative MPs are concerned that a failure to “stop the boats” will hit them badly at the next general election, expected within a year.

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Original Guardian link (registration required): https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/nov/16/james-cleverly-determined-removal-flight-rwanda-before-general-election