ECHR must be changed if used to block Rwanda flights, Tories warn

• The Rwanda Bill became law this week as it was passed by the House of Lords

The European Convention on Human Rights must be changed if it is used to block flights to Rwanda, centrist Tories have warned.

Senior MPs Damian Green and Matt Warman have said the government should be ready to reform the court if it steps in to obstruct deportation flights.

It comes as Rishi Sunak’s flagship plan to tackle illegal migration finally became law this week as it was passed by the House of Lords.

Mr Green and Mr Warman are part of the One Nation caucas which has previously defended the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) against criticisms from the Right of the Conservative party.

They have also insisted that the Rwanda plan must be carried out in accordance with international law.

The European Convention on Human Rights must be changed if it is used to block flights to Rwanda , centrist Tories have warned (file pic)

Rishi Sunak ‘s flagship plan to tackle illegal migration finally became law this week as it was passed by the House of Lords

A protester in Parliament Square holds a sign referencing the migrant houses which have been sold off and the Rwanda refugee plan

But now, writing for the Telegraph, the senior Tories said: ‘Despite empty noise from the Left, Parliament has delivered on its part of the bargain and passed the Bill.

‘Now it is time for the Home Office to step up and do its part too, ensuring officials do all they can to get flights off the ground and deliver on the British people’s priorities.

‘This should not be prevented by international courts, and if the ECHR chooses to intervene, then the Conservative Government must be ready to take a leading role in reforming and improving the court to ensure it is fit for purpose.’

Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron has also backed calls for the UK to remain part of the treaty – saying leaving the convention is not ‘necessary’ to prevent small boat crossings.

Speaking to ITV’s Peston show this week, he said: ‘I don’t think it’s necessary to leave the ECHR, I don’t think that needs to happen to make this policy work.’

On whether he would have pursued the policy while he was prime minister, Lord Cameron added: ‘We had a totally different situation because (we) could return people directly to France.

Senior MPs Damian Green (pictured) and Matt Warman have said the government should be ready to reform the court if it steps in to obstruct deportation flights

Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron has also backed calls for the UK to remain part of the treaty – saying leaving the convention is not ‘necessary’ to prevent small boat crossings

‘Now, I’d love that situation to be the case again, that’s the most sensible thing.

‘People land on a beach in Kent, you take them straight back to France, you therefore break the model of the people smugglers. That’s not available at the moment. It’s simply not possible.’

Rishi Sunak was previously warned that the Rwanda scheme could breach the convention by a senior judge at the European Court of Human Rights.

The first flight to Rwanda was also cancelled minutes before take-off in June 2022 following a ruling by the court.

Ministers were told by the ECHR that the plane could not leave the UK until British judges had extensively examined the arguments against the controversial immigration scheme.

Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has argued that the only way to get the Rwanda flights off the ground is to leave the convention.

The Prime Minister has also said that his plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda trumps the UK’s ‘membership of any foreign court’.

Meanwhile, Home Secretary James Cleverly said the criticism of the Rwanda Bill from the ECHR, which he ‘values enormously’, is ‘out of step’.

Rishi Sunak was previously warned that the Rwanda scheme could breach the convention by a senior judge at the European Court of Human Rights (file pic)

Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has argued that the only way to get the Rwanda flights off the ground is to leave the convention (file pic)

‘There is a real moral hazard in saying to a nation state government that it cannot manage its own borders, it cannot make decisions about who does or does not live in its own country,’ he said while speaking at a think-tank in Rome.

‘Because that undermines the integrity of the democratic process in which we live.’

The passing of the Rwanda bill this week came after five rounds of Parliamentary ‘ping-pong’, which saw the proposals batted back and forth between the chambers as MPs repeatedly removed amendments made by peers.

The last remaining tweak had called for an independent monitoring commission to declare the African state safe before Channel migrants could be sent there.

That had been passed by the Lords by 240 to 211, but the elected House deleted it by a margin of 312 to 237. And when peers resumed their sitting, it was clear the fight was over.

Government minister Lord Sharpe wrapped up proceedings by insisting it is ‘profoundly moral and patriotic’ to defend the country’s borders.

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