Is the UK on course to leave the European Convention on Human Rights? This is what some Tory MPs are pushing for after judges in Strasbourg blocked, at the last minute, the first deportation flight scheduled to take asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda.
After unsuccessful bids in the UK courts, a judgement from the ECtHR halting the deportation of one passenger triggered a series of new legal challenges back in London. This led to the government removing all the passengers from the plane. In response to the judgment, Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was ‘disappointed’ but undeterred – insisting work for the next flight was already underway.
Ministers are more than happy to have a fight – just look how they responded to reports that Prince Charles called the policy ‘appalling’
Ahead of the decision, Johnson had already suggested that withdrawing from the ECHR was an option: ‘Will it be necessary to change some laws to help us as we go along? It may very well be and all these options are under constant review.’
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