The first flight to deport migrants to Rwanda was halted after European human rights judges intervened for 11 hours.
The European Court of Human Rights has issued an urgent order to one of the asylum seekers to remove him from the flight, just hours after the UK Supreme Court rejected his application.
The other six migrants facing deportation also received similar orders, and a £ 300,000 Boeing 747 charter flight waiting at RAF Boscombe Down in Wiltshire to take them to Rwanda was suspended.
This could mean that all deportation flights to Rwanda have been suspended for weeks until a judicial review, due by the end of July, decides whether the policy is legal.
It also raises the possibility for ministers to review their membership of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to ensure that the scheme can continue.
“European judges have justified everything, despite the decision of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal in favor of the government. This is appalling, “said a government source.
Interior Minister Priti Patel said she was “disappointed” and “very surprised” by the intervention of European courts, despite “repeated earlier successes in our domestic courts”.
Promising that she would not be “prevented from doing the right thing,” she said, “Preparations for the next flight begin now.”
More than 130 migrants were initially selected for deportation to Rwanda, but only seven remained as of Tuesday morning after others successfully filed complaints against the deportation, alleging they violated their human right to family life or were victims of modern slavery.
The United Kingdom remains a signatory to the ECHR, which is controlled by the European Court of Justice, although it is leaving the EU. On Tuesday, however, Boris Johnson warned he would change the laws if necessary to limit legal challenges and leave open the possibility of leaving the convention.
Asked during a visit to Staffordshire whether the United Kingdom would have to leave the ECtHR to avoid the kind of court battle he has faced in Rwanda, Mr Johnson said lawyers were “very good at finding ways to they are trying to stop the government from upholding what we think is a sensible law. “
He added: “Will it be necessary to change some laws to help us as we move forward? That may be the case, and all of these options are constantly being reviewed. “
Speaking at the beginning of the cabinet, the prime minister also accused lawyers of “supporting the work of criminal groups” by blocking a policy of deterring migrants from making dangerous and unnecessary trips across the English Channel facilitated by human smugglers. More than 400 crossed the English Channel on Tuesday.
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