Rishi Sunak is considering suspending part of the Human Rights Act to get Rwanda flights off the ground, reports say

• Rishi Sunak is examining ‘disapplying’ parts of the Human Rights Act
• Move would be through emergency laws to send asylum seekers to Rwanda 
• Cancelling portions of the Human Rights Act would be controversial

Rishi Sunak is considering cancelling part of the Human Rights Act to get Rwanda removals flights off the ground, it was reported last night.

The Prime Minister’s team is looking at the possibility of ‘disapplying’ part of the legislation under emergency laws.

The move would mirror proposals which were privately floated to No 10 by Suella Braverman before her sacking last week.

She has claimed Mr Sunak failed to act, angering MPs on the Right of the party.

But measures to restrict human rights laws – barring their use in illegal migration cases, for example – would be highly contentious. ‘This would tear the party apart,’ a Conservative party source told the Guardian. ‘Several cabinet ministers and the One Nationers would not stand for it – the Prime Minister wouldn’t even get it through the Commons.

Rishi Sunak is considering cancelling part of the Human Rights Act to send asylum seekers to Rwanda

The scheme mirrors a proposal by former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who had championed sending asylum seekers to the small and authoritarian east African state

Mr Sunak pledged emergency measures – plus a new, legally-binding treaty with Rwanda – last week in the wake of the immigration policy being declared unlawful by the Supreme Court. The move comes after it was revealed Mrs Braverman wrote to the Prime Minister six times warning the Rwanda asylum scheme risked failure.

Migration set to soar as foreign workers allowed to extend visas 

Net migration is expected to surge in figures released this week after a sharp rise in foreigners extending their UK visas.

Home Office data shows a 50 per cent spike in the number of foreign nationals who successfully applied to extend their permission to stay in Britain.

The increase is likely to have a significant impact on net migration – the difference between those arriving here for a long-term stay and those emigrating.

The Office for National Statistics said net migration hit a record 606,000 in 2022 – and on Thursday will unveil its latest net migration estimate for the 12 months to the end of June.

A Daily Mail analysis of Home Office data shows an extra 105,000 visa extensions for work, study or family reasons in the first six months of this year. The total hit 319,979 in the first half of this year compared with 214,899 in the same period last year.

In June, think-tank Migration Watch UK calculated that the population would soar to up to 87million by 2046 if net migration continues at the same rate.

The former home secretary — who was sacked a week ago by Rishi Sunak — told the PM the flagship immigration policy was at ‘real risk’ of collapsing on legal grounds, sources said. Her letters — sent over the course of her year in charge of the Home Office — also urged him to take ‘tough decisions’ to come up with an upgraded alternative.

But Mr Sunak failed to act, The Sun on Sunday reported. ‘Rishi and No 10 repeatedly failed to heed her warnings that we could lose in the courts and needed other options as well as a much tougher approach,’ a Tory source said.

‘Now we are miles behind in the polls. The buck stops with Sunak.’

After her sacking, Mrs Braverman published a blistering letter in which she accused Mr Sunak of reneging on a secret deal she struck with him before supporting him as the new PM. Speaking yesterday, she said: ‘He is the leader right now, we need to back this team as much as possible to get it right and win the election. Our prospects are looking bleak and we need to start delivering.’

She also attacked Mr Sunak over his approach to extremism at pro-Palestinian marches. ‘I felt there had been a lack of moral leadership,’ Mrs Braverman said.

‘There had been tepid and timid statements from the Prime Minister throughout the course of this issue and I felt there was a real opportunity for the Prime Minister to demonstrate some moral leadership, to demonstrate that this is not what Britain stands for. I felt that was wholly lacking.’

She also renewed her criticism of the police’s approach to tackling marchers who step over the line.

‘I back the police but… the police let down the British people, let down the Jewish community.’

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