The High Court Rwanda ruling is a win for the Tories

Today’s High Court ruling that the government’s plan to send irregular migrants to Rwanda on a one-way ticket is lawful will be greeted with huge relief in ministerial circles. It gives Rishi Sunak a fighting chance of being able to demonstrate progress in tackling the Channel boats issue by the time of the next general election.

The terms of the ruling, announced by Lord Justice Lewis, will delight ministers. He declared straightforwardly: ‘We have concluded that it is lawful for the government to make arrangements to relocate asylum seekers to Rwanda and for their asylum claims to be determined there.’

This establishes a principle that ministers believe can be applied to other potential partner countries once the Rwanda scheme is up and running. It also gives Sunak a path – albeit a narrow and difficult one – to achieving his promise that nobody arriving in Britain illegally should get to live here, without even having to take us out of various international bodies and agreements.