I hear what my right hon. and learned Friend says about section 3 and I agree with him wholeheartedly. He is right to describe it as clunky, and it has been disapplied in this Bill as well as in the Illegal Migration Act.
If I may say so directly to my right hon. Friend the Member for Newark, I accept entirely his comments that he is here to help the Government and that he believes passionately in this policy. He has had several very frank, open and honest conversations with me about that, both in this Chamber and outside it, and I am grateful to him for putting his points so ably and so clearly, but the disapplication of those sections within the Bill significantly reduces the extent to which public authorities are bound to act as a consequence of the convention rights.
May I turn to clause 5 and the further amendments tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for Newark? Clause 5 makes it clear that it is for a Minister of the Crown alone to determine whether to comply with an interim measure of the Strasbourg Court. It also makes it clear that the domestic courts may not have regard to the existence of any interim measure when considering any domestic application flowing from a decision to remove a person to Rwanda in accordance with the treaty.
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What happened with the Rwanda flight in June 2022 was frustrating, as many Members have mentioned—it was a deeply flawed process and raised issues of natural justice—but changes have been made since then, not least in the Illegal Migration Act. On 13 November, the Strasbourg Court announced the outcome of its review of the rules concerning interim measures. The changes include the naming of judges, interim measures being communicated as formal decisions, and the confirmation of the existing practice of parties being able to request the reconsideration of a decision in the rules. The United Kingdom has responded formally to the Court’s consultation.
Colleagues have raised concerns that, assuming the Bill passes and succeeds in closing down the vast majority of individual claims, our deterrent will be frustrated by a rule 39 interim measure. I say directly to my right hon. and hon. Friends that I understand those concerns.
No one who was here in June 2022 and saw the last Rwanda plane left on the tarmac can fail to understand the importance of fixing this issue. That is why the Prime Minister has been clear that he will not let a foreign court block the flights. We simply cannot let an international court dictate our border security and stop us establishing a deterrent. That is why we have inserted clause 5, which is crystal clear that it is for Ministers, and Ministers alone, to decide whether to comply with rule 39 injunctions. We would not have inserted clause 5 if we were not prepared to use it. I confirm to the Committee that we can and will lawfully use that power if the circumstances arise. The discretion is there.
We go further still and we confirm that the civil service must implement any such decision. Today, the permanent secretary for the Home Office has confirmed that if we receive a rule 39 indication, instead of deferring removal immediately, as is currently the practice, officials will refer the rule 39 to the Minister—not to be too grandiose but, in this case, to me—for an immediate decision. As the Cabinet Office has confirmed, it is the responsibility of civil servants, under the civil service code, to deliver that decision.
Colleagues have confirmation that we have the power, we would use the power, and the civil service will give effect to it. If a plane is sitting on that runway, this Government will not stop until it takes off. We all know what the Opposition would do: they would campaign for it to be grounded.