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In an interview with The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots programme, the Prime Minister defended his policy on illegal immigrants arriving by boat across the English Channel and hinted he would be prepared to quit the ECtHR if the court blocks a plan to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda.
“I believe that all of our plans are in line with all of our international obligations, including the ECHR, but I believe that border security and efforts to ensure that we control illegal immigration are more important than participation in some foreign court because it is fundamental to our sovereignty as a country ,” Sunak explained.
The government is all set to implement the Rwanda plan once the bill overcomes opposition in the House of Lords, the prime minister said, dismissing claims that no airline was willing to fly asylum seekers to the African country.
He also noted that there is a positive trend in the area of curbing illegal immigration.
“Progress is being made. What are we doing with Albania? [Albānijas pilsoņi] last year there was a third of the arrivals,” Sunak reminded.
“I negotiated a new agreement with Albania. Of course, it is a safe country. If someone comes here illegally, we can send them back.”
“We have sent thousands of people back to Albania. And what happened? They stopped coming. Now we have to do it again,” the prime minister said.
The decision to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda was made in April 2020, when Boris Johnson was the prime minister. However, no illegal immigrants have yet been sent to Kigali, as this has been constantly challenged in the courts.
Great Britain and Rwanda signed a new agreement in December in an attempt to revive a British government plan to send asylum seekers who have entered the UK illegally to Rwanda, blocked by British courts.
