Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg after resigning on Wednesday, former immigration minister Robert Jenrick was disparaging in his assessment of the government’s new Rwanda legislation. Explaining his resignation, he said he couldn’t be the minister guiding the bill through parliament. Jenrick implied he had a better understanding of the issue than the Prime Minister, and that a ‘political choice’ had been made to bring forward a bill which wouldn’t do the job. Jenrick claimed that under the proposed legislation, the Rwanda scheme would be bogged down by migrants’ potential legal claims and would not act as an effective deterrent.
Michael Gove: ‘this bill is the robust measure required’
In defence of the government’s plans, Levelling up Secretary Michael Gove argued that the scheme would not be mired by legal claims. He told Laura Kuenssberg that there were only ‘narrow exemptions’ to the policy, and individuals could only challenge their deportation if there was ‘an immediate risk of serious… harm’ to themselves personally.
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