Rishi Sunak Threatens To Leave ‘Foreign’ European Court If Rwanda Deal Is Blocked

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ventrued the possibility of the UK withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if it interferes with his push to pass his controversial Rwanda deportation plan.

This plan, which has been met with heavy criticism, seeks to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, a policy that right-wing Conservative MPs, including figures like former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, have supported amidst fears that the ECHR could block these deportations.

Sunak, appearing on The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots show, told editor Harry Cole that “making sure that we can control illegal migration is more important than membership of a foreign court because it’s fundamental to our sovereignty as a country.”

The sentiment echoes the longstanding concerns of a faction within the Conservative Party that views the ECHR as an impediment to the UK’s ability to formulate and enforce its immigration policies.

The prime minister said: “I believe that all plans are compliant with all of our international obligations including the ECHR, but I do believe that border security and making sure that we can control illegal migration is more important than membership of a foreign court because it’s fundamental to our sovereignty as a country.”

While opposition politicians have dismissed the threat to leave the ECHR as desperate and empty blame-shifting, since the bill hasn’t even made it past the House of Lords without Tory party in-fighting, the moderate One Nation Group of Tory MPs raised concerns that a departure would violate the Good Friday Agreement peacemaking deal in Northern Ireland, which requires the incorporation of the ECHR into Northern Irish law.

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