UK working on new Rwanda treaty: PM Sunak

Britain’s government has already been working on a new treaty with Rwanda and could change the country’s laws after the Supreme Court ruled that the plan to send migrants there was unlawful, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday.

“The government has already been working in advance on a new treaty with Rwanda, which we will finalise in light of today’s judgement,” Sunak told parliament.

“If it becomes clear that our domestic legal frameworks or international conventions are still frustrating plans at that point, I am prepared to change our laws and revisit those international relationships.

“The British people expect us to do whatever it takes to stop the boats,” he added, referring to asylum seekers arriving from France on small boats via the Channel.

The ruling by Britain’s Supreme Court earlier on Wednesday dealt a crushing blow to Sunak before an election expected next year.

Under the scheme, Britain intended to send tens of thousands of asylum seekers who arrived on its shores without permission to the East African country in a bid to deter migrants crossing the Channel from Europe in small boats.

But the top court on Wednesday unanimously ruled that Rwanda could not be considered a safe third country, delighting opponents who said the policy was unworkable and cruel, and infuriating those on the right wing of Sunak’s Conservative Party.