Tory rebels win concessions on judges blocking flights

Ministers have agreed to back two amendments to its flagship Illegal Migration Bill as part of No. 10’s attempt to ward off the latest Tory rebellion. The first is an agreement to change the law so that judges can no longer block migrant deportations. An amendment will give the Home Secretary the power to ‘disregard’ interim ‘Rule 39’ orders from the European Court of Human Rights – the so-called ‘pyjama injunctions’ suspended the first scheduled Rwanda deportation flight last June late at night. Previously, ministers were only willing to introduce this power to ignore last-minute injunctions if ministers failed to persuade the Strasbourg court to reform its Rule 39 orders.

A second concession to the 40-odd Tory rebels on the right of the party will make it much harder for UK courts to grant injunctions to stop deportations. The Bill will be amended so that the only way to stop a deportation of failed asylum seeker is by persuading a British judge that it would lead to ‘serious and irreversible harm’ in the territory to which they are being deported.