Tory grandee warns Rwanda bill risks ‘elected dictatorship’

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Tory grandee Ken Clarke has criticised Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill, warning that overturning a Supreme Court ruling might see the UK slipping into an “elected dictatorship”.

Former chancellor Lord Clarke is a key determine within the average wing of the conservative celebration and had beforehand backed the Rwanda deportation coverage, however he has now argued it has hit a “brick wall” after being vetoed by the Supreme Court.

In the House of Lords, Lord Clark warned towards the federal government overriding the courts as a “step too far” and that it risked a state of affairs the place “you claim that the colour black is the same as the colour white, all dogs are cats”.

He mentioned: “If we pass this bill, we are asserting as a matter of law that Rwanda is a safe country for this purpose, that it is always going to be a safe country for this purpose until the law is changed.

“And the courts may not even consider any evidence brought before them to try to demonstrate that it’s not a safe country.

“This is a very dangerous constitutional provision.”

The Safety of Rwanda bill cleared its first main hurdle within the House of Lords final night time, after friends voted by a majority of 122 towards a movement designed to dam it.

However, the bill is anticipated to come across extra opposition as friends try and amend it subsequent month.

Speaking on the finish of the talk, Labour’s Home Office spokesman Lord Vernon Coaker mentioned that whereas his celebration opposed the bill, it was the job of the House of Lords – an unelected physique – to scrutinise and amend laws, to not block it.

Lord Clarke’s intervention is illustrative of an ongoing debate throughout the Conservative celebration in regards to the UK authorities’s relationship with the judicial system, and authorized and human rights hurdles to their flagship Rwanda coverage.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby additionally warned that the bill might create a “pick-and-choose approach” to worldwide legislation that might undermine the UK’s world standing.

The Most Rev Justin Welby mentioned: “The UK should lead internationally as it has in the past, not stand apart.

“A pick-and-choose approach to international law undermines our global standing and offends against the principle of universality that is there increasingly threatened foundation.”

Rev Welby did again the modification to dam the Bill, although he mentioned the argument made for it was “convincing and powerful”.

He added: “But I think we have to wait until third reading and have done our revising work.”

The authorities is hoping to get the flights to Rwanda operating by the spring.