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A rebel Tory plan to clear the way for deportations of asylum seekers to Rwanda by ignoring court rulings blocking the flights has been defeated in the House of Commons.
Former home secretary Priti Patel was among 69 MPs backing the move, but the backbench bill did not receive government support and was voted down by 188 others – including four Tories.
Despite claims of support from Boris Johnson, the former prime minister did not turn to vote on backbencher Jonathan Gullis’s bill.
Mr Gullis said his bill would take back “parliamentary sovereignty” over deportations by empowering the government to ignore rulings by the European Court of Human Rights and the UK’s High Court.
His supporters claimed that prime minister Rishi Sunak – whose asylum package unveiled on Tuesday did not mention the European court – is failing to act on a promise not to allow the court to “inhibit our ability to properly control our borders”.
Claims of Mr Johnson’s support came after the former PM helped force Mr Sunak into a U-turn over onshore wind farms, adding to evidence that he will be a thorn in his successor’s side from the backbenches.
Mr Gullis said: “Immigration lawyers have been able to stop deportations to Rwanda because of appeals to the ECHR in Strasbourg.
“The British people invest their trust in parliament, not unaccountable European courts. We believe parliament is the ultimate law-making body. Therefore, it is shocking that we have let these judgments get in the way of our immigration policy.”
Tory MPs voting against his bill were former cabinet ministers David Davis and Sir Robert Buckland, Simon Hoare and the chair of Westminster’s all-party group on migration David Simmonds.
Ms Patel, while home secretary, signed a deal with Rwanda to deport asylum seekers arriving in the UK, but the Brussels court issued an injunction ahead of legal challenges in the UK.
Many Conservative MPs argue it is the only way to break the business model of the criminal gangs organising the Channel crossings – although the Home Office failed to produce any evidence that it would.
On Tuesday, Mr Sunak staked his credibility on successfully cutting the number of crossings, which are set to top 50,000 in this calendar year.
New guidance will make it “crystal clear that Albania is a safe country,” therefore asylum applications should be rejected, and modern slavery laws will be diluted.
The number of asylum caseworkers will be doubled, to clear a vast backlog of claims, and legislation early next year will ensure no-one entering the UK illegally is allowed to stay.
