The bitter legal battle over the government's flagship immigration policy is set to reach new heights after Downing Street insisted it would fight to overturn a ruling that sending refugees to Rwanda was unlawful.
Judges at the court of appeal ruled yesterday in favour of campaign groups and 10 asylum seekers, while the opposition claimed the policy at heart of Rishi Sunak's "stop the boats" pledge was unravelling.
But the prime minister was quick to announce plans to appeal against the decision at the supreme court as he insisted that Rwanda was a safe country for asylum seekers to have their claims processed - and said the court had agreed with this.
The home secretary, Suella Braverman, went further by claiming after the ruling that the "system is rigged against the British people".
Officials within the government are privately even more bullish about its next legal fight, which could pave the way for flights before the general election. One No 10 source said: "The lawyers have spent all day poring over this and know exactly what the need to prove at the supreme court. They've got a good case to make."
The ruling follows a four-day hearing in April against last year's high court decision that it was lawful to send some asylum seekers, including people arriving on small boats, to Rwanda to have their claims processed rather than dealing with their applications for sanctuary in the UK.
This story is from the June 30, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the June 30, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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