Sunak Facing Clash With EU On 'Unlawful' Asylum Plans

Rishi Sunak faces a fresh clash with the European Union after a warning from a senior commissioner that his contentious new migration bill will be in breach of human rights laws.

- Rajeev Syal

The intervention comes as the prime minister prepares to meet the French president, Emmanuel Macron tomorrow, when Sunak is expected to be asked to guarantee regular payments in order for France to stop boats carrying asylum seekers from crossing the Channel.

Sunak has said stopping the crisis is one of his priorities, while Suella Braverman, the home secretary, has insisted the new law, which aims to criminalise, detain and deport refugees, meets human rights obligations.

Ylva Johansson, the EU commissioner for home affairs, said she had personally told Braverman that she believed the asylum plans breached international law.

They spoke on Tuesday before the home secretary's Commons statement, and the publication of the bill. "I told her that I think that this is violating international law," Johansson told Politico.

The home secretary disagreed with the commissioner and asked her to read the detail of the bill once it was published, a source close to Braverman said.

Johansson's comments will add to the perception that ministers expect the bill to be stalled by legal challenges, and maybe a cynical attempt to provoke a row with Labour in the run-up to a general election. Braverman wrote on the front page of the bill that she was unable to say the provisions were "compatible with the convention rights".

The potential reigniting of hostilities with the EU comes after an improvement of relations following last month's successful negotiations over the Northern Ireland protocol.

Macron will host Sunak tomorrow for the first bilateral summit between Britain and France in five years. It is understood they will discuss further strengthening of cooperation between police and coastguards and how to finance them.