Judges have received extra training to ensure asylum seekers can be removed to Rwanda “without delay”, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has revealed.
More than 100 additional court staff have also been recruited and 25 hearing rooms have been equipped with remote camera technology so that appeals can be heard remotely if needed.
Mr Chalk said: “I’ve been having regular discussions with senior judges about how we can get things moving.”
The Government’s Safety of Rwanda Bill returns to the House of Commons on April 15 and is expected to pass into law “within weeks”, but Ministers now face the challenge of ensuring flights to Rwanda get off the ground. They argue the measure will ensure people who arrive in the UK unlawfully are unable to stay, and will discourage cross-Channel small boat crossings.
While the law removes most potential grounds for a legal challenge, such as the claim that Rwanda is an unsafe country, some of those identified for removal may still attempt to fight the decision in the courts.
Mr Chalk has overseen work to ensure appeals are dealt with quickly. He said: “As a country built on the rule of law, we must be prepared to hear any admissible claims and challenges to removal decisions. But I know that readers of The Sunday Express want to see those cases heard as quickly as possible – so that illegal migrants who must leave the country can be made to do so without delay.”
Appeals would be dealt with “in a matter of weeks, rather than years – and those without the right to stay here will no longer be able to frustrate our legal system with unfounded appeals which clog up our courts,” he said.
Mr Chalk added: “The British people are fair-minded, but they rightly expect justice to be swift. We’re forging ahead with our asylum plan and my message to illegal migrants planning to come to the UK and the people smuggling gangs who bring them here is clear: we’re ready for Rwanda and so should you be.”
Shadow Health Secretary Yvette Cooper last night claimed it would take more than 300 years to remove everyone the Government has pledged to send to Rwanda.
The Government has not given a figure for the number to be deported each year, with Immigration Minister Michael Tomlinson saying “it will start off in the hundreds and scale up into the thousands”, but Labour says Rwanda is unlikely to accept more than 300 asylum seekers per year. That means it would take 304 years to remove the 90,000 people who have arrived in the UK by irregular means since 2022, said Ms Cooper.
