The European Union has warned Rishi Sunak’s government that plans to bar migrants in small boats from seeking asylum in Britain violate international law.
The European Commission Home Affairs Commissioner, Ylva Johansson, said she had warned Suella Braverman that the illegal immigration law violated human rights.
“Yesterday, I spoke to the British minister about this and told him that I think this violates international law,” Ms. Johansson told Politico.
It comes after legal experts warned parts of the UK’s trade deal with the EU could be void if the government withdraws from the European Convention on Human Rights (EHCR).
Ms. Braverman told Tory lawmakers there was “more than a 50 percent chance” that the bill would not be ECHR compliant.
Ministers are preparing for a legal challenge to the plan, which aims to prevent anyone from entering the UK without a residence permit, which the UN refugee agency has condemned as an effective ‘ban on asylum.’
Professor Steve Pearce, an EU law and human rights expert, has warned that Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal – the 2020 Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) – is in jeopardy.
“If the UK abandons the ECHR or denounces all or part of it, it is quite clear that the EU will suspend the policing and security agreement,” he told The Guardian.
Catherine Barnard, Professor of EU Law at the University of Cambridge, added: “It is clear that the EU has good intentions that the UK can try to leave the Convention and its compliance walking through the TCA as it is carved in stone.”
The Home Secretary confirmed he had briefed Ms. Johansson on the planned crackdown on asylum seekers and planned deportations before making a commotion statement detailing the details.
But speaking on ITV’s Peston Show, Ms. Braverman also clarified that the UK is no longer bound by EU rules, meaning it is free to set its migration policies.
“I explained to him, in general terms, the steps we were proposing, and he told me he thought they were illegal,” said Ms. Braverman.
“I invited him to read the details, and I am more than happy to talk to him about the bill details,” the home secretary said during the phone call.
He added: “But we are no longer a member of the European Union and can therefore set our own borders and migration policies. We believe our actions are legal, reasonable, necessary, compassionate, and fair.”
The row comes as Sunac travels to France on Friday, where he is expected to seek further assistance from President Emmanuel Macron to stop migrant boats from leaving French shores.
Macron will reportedly ask Sunak for a “multi-year funding agreement” for increased security patrols in Calais when the two meet at a bilateral summit in Paris this Friday.
Immigration Secretary Robert Jenrick on Wednesday acknowledged they would present some “new” legal arguments to defend the measure but said he was confident it would be effective.
“We believe that we have serious legal arguments. In some cases, this is a new and new legal argument. I don’t think it will surprise anyone,” he told Channel 4. “These are new legal principles, but they will most likely be upheld by the courts.”
Home Office officials told the Independent that the Home Secretary’s plan was an “empty threat” and would not work. At the same time, the former Tory minister called for safer and more legal avenues for asylum seekers.
A Home Office official told The Independent that the asylum system was not overwhelmed by small boat crossings, as Ms. Braverman claimed, but “because of how it was run.”
“After saturating Rwanda, where will you send them?” they asked. “Everything works with the Albanians, but the rest? This is an empty threat.”
Meanwhile, Ms. Braverman insisted she did not authorize emails sent on her behalf accusing government officials of blocking previous government efforts to tackle illegal migration.
The message, sent to thousands of members of the Conservative Party, blamed the failure of previous efforts on “a group of activists made up of left-wing lawyers, civil servants, and Labor.”
However, Ms. Braverman said: “I didn’t write the email, I didn’t see it, and it was completely an error sent on my behalf.”
He said he was “overwhelmingly impressed” by the dedication and hard work of the Home Office staff who have worked on the new steps.
The former Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), which released the email, acknowledged “the Home Secretary has not seen his word” and said it was “reviewing” its internal clearance process.
