Rwanda in veiled snub at Braverman as they hint they would have walked from deal over ECHR fears
PA
The Government of Rwanda has seemingly snubbed former Home Secretary Suella Braverman in a statement released on their migrant deal with the UK.
It said it would have dropped out of the deal if the UK were not to act "lawfully".
It comes after Rishi Sunak announced new emergency legislation aimed at getting the Rwanda scheme off the ground.
Braverman has repeatedly demanded the Government withdraw from or disapply the ECHR to get the scheme off the ground.
A statement from a source close to Braverman this evening said that the plan was "fatally flawed" and a betrayal to Tory voters.
They warned that the legislation will allow "every single illegal migrant to make individual human rights claims", saying it is a "further betrayal of Tory voters".
In a statement, the Rwandan Government said: "It has always been important to both Rwanda and the UK... to act lawfully. Without lawful behaviour by the UK, Rwanda would not be able to continue with the Migration and Economic Development Partnership."
They continued: "It has always been important to both Rwanda and the UK that our rule of law partnership meets the highest standards of international law, and it places obligations on both the UK and Rwanda to act lawfully.
"Without lawful behaviour by the UK, Rwanda would not be able to continue with the Migration and Economic Development Partnership."
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Suella Braverman is not happy with the new legislation
PAA source close to the former Home Secretary said: "This bill doesn’t come close to meeting Suella’s tests.
"The PM has kept the ability for every single illegal migrant to make individual human rights claims against their removal and to then appeal those claims if they don’t succeed. It is fatally flawed.
"It will be bogged down in the courts for months…. It won’t stop the boats.
"It is a further betrayal of Tory voters and the decent patriotic majority who want to see this insanity brought to an end."
The new Bill, published this evening, says the UK parliament "is sovereign", noting that "the validity of an Act is unaffected by international law".
It also disapplies parts of the Human Rights Act, preventing it from getting in the way of sending migrants to Rwanda.
In a statement at the start of the legislation, Home Secretary James Cleverly said the Bill is not compatible with the ECHR.
He said: "I am unable to make a statement that, in my view, the provisions of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill are compatible with the Convention rights, but the Government nevertheless wishes the House to proceed with the Bill."
The law also states that Rwanda is a "safe country".
The bill was published ahead of this evening's meeting of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers, which will see Sunak hauled in front of his MPs to discuss migration.