The government looks set to give Suella Braverman the power to ignore attempts by the European Court of Human Rights to stop deportations from the UK.
A group of Tory MPs said a deal has been reached with Rishi Sunak on proposed amendments to the controversial Illegal Migration Bill which would give the Home Secretary powers to disregard injunctions from the ECHR – so-called Rule 39 orders – in some instances.
It comes as the Prime Minister hopes to see off a backbench rebellion, with other amendments expected to include requiring British judges to decide a deportation would cause “serious and irreversible harm” in order to block it.
Lord Thomas, a former Lord Chief Justice and cross-bench peer, has expressed deep reservations about the moves, warning that such proposals could face defeat in the Lords, and said that any such move would set “an extraordinarily bad example”.
“I think it is a very serious step for the Government to be contemplating putting into force,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Defending the principle of the ECHR, he said the fact of interim decisions in some cases “does not in any way detract from the importance of a judgment being made by a court”.
“Many people would say having the power to ignore a court order is something – unless the circumstances were quite extraordinary – this is a step a government should never take because it is symbolic of a breach of the rule of law.”
The Government is expected to publish the amendments on Thursday ahead of debates and votes next week.
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