Priti Patel’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda faces its first legal challenge after a charity instructed lawyers to demand disclosure over fears that the policy was contrary to international law.
In a letter of preliminary action to the Home Office, which is expected to lead to a lawsuit for judicial review, Lee Day’s lawyers said the Freedom from Torture charity “has serious concerns about the legitimacy of the policy”.
He called for “disclosure of policy information”, including documents outlining it, risk assessments and a memorandum of understanding signed by the governments of the United Kingdom and Rwanda.
According to a deal signed by Patel and praised by Boris Johnson as a way to save hundreds of people from traffic, those arriving by small boat across the English Channel will be transported on a one-way ticket to Rwanda.
Britain has promised Rwanda an initial £ 120m as part of the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund, but the UK will also pay for operating costs. However, details have not been released by the Interior Ministry.
The interior minister has issued a rare ministerial instruction to dispel civil servants’ concerns about whether the scheme will provide value for money.
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Patel has been the subject of significant judicial criticism for repeatedly failing to disclose key political documents, including those related to the confiscation of telephones from newly arrived refugees and controversial plans to instruct the Border Force to “repel” boats carrying refugees across the English Channel.
Freedom from Torture, a London-based charity, was part of the successful challenge of stopping the boat from repelling the English Channel. The government formally withdrew the plans on Sunday, just days before a judicial review of tactics was heard in the Supreme Court.
The charity will send a call for group funding to help raise funds to cover the costs of the legal challenge, which it hopes will lead to the withdrawal of the Ministry of Interior’s policy.
Sonia Steats, CEO of Freedom from Torture, said: “The outpouring of compassion for those fleeing Ukraine and Afghanistan has shown that the public wants security people to be welcome. But instead, the government plans to send refugees around the world to Rwanda. We must not resort to legal action in order for this government to treat refugees with basic human dignity – but here we are again.
“This brutal plan is not only deeply immoral and possibly illegal, but will also deny survivors of torture and other access to vital trauma services such as those provided by Freedom from Torture. Up and down in the country, people are beginning to mobilize against this government’s cynical efforts to incite fear and xenophobia against refugees. This action is part of a broader struggle by the caring public to tell the government that this heartless policy is not in our name. “
Less than 200 people who came to the UK without a permit would have been sent to Rwanda last year, an analysis of government data found.
The Refugee Council said 172 people could be sent to the East African country if there was an agreement. According to him, this year the number will probably not be much higher.
The figures call into question Johnson’s claim that “tens of thousands” of people who arrived in the UK without permission could receive a one-way ticket to Rwanda.
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said the agreement required Rwanda to process claims under the UN Refugee Convention, ensuring protection from inhuman and degrading treatment.
“Our new partnership for migration and economic development with Rwanda is in full compliance with all international and national legislation. Although we expect the Partnership to be challenged in court, we will strongly defend any legal challenge. “
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