UK to upgrade Rwanda migration deal to a treaty

STORY: Britain’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the government’s scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful, dealing a crushing blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before an election expected next year.

With his flagship immigration policy in tatters, Sunak said he was working on a new treaty with Rwanda, and said if this did not solve the issue, he would pass new laws and revisit any international treaties which frustrated his plans.

Under the scheme, Britain intended to send tens of thousands of asylum seekers who arrived on its shores without permission to the East African country in a bid to deter migrants crossing the Channel from Europe in small boats.

But the top court on Wednesday unanimously ruled that Rwanda could not be considered a safe third country, delighting opponents who said the policy was unworkable and cruel, and infuriating those on the right wing of Sunak’s Conservative Party.