Tory backbenchers could be heard cheering news that court appeals to block tomorrow’s deportation flight to Rwanda had fallen through.
Court of Appeal judges rejected a last-ditch legal bid to block the first flight due to relocate asylum seekers to Africa under a controversial Government policy.
The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), which represents more than 80 per cent of Border Force staff, and charities Care4Calais and Detention Action challenged a High Court judge’s refusal to grant an injunction on Friday, which meant the first flight to the east African country could go ahead on Tuesday.
Lawyers for the three groups and one person due to be removed asked for the injunction to prevent the 11 people now due on Tuesday’s flight from being taken to Rwanda until the full hearing of whether the policy is lawful next month.
Raza Husain QC argued that the judge who refused to block the flight on Friday, Mr Justice Swift, had wrongly decided the “balance of convenience”.
But, following an urgent hearing in London on Monday, three senior judges dismissed the appeal, saying there was no error in the decision of Mr Justice Swift.
Announcing the news in parliament, Mike Wood seemed overcome with delight that the appeal had failed, along with several of his Conservative colleagues.
Watch the clip in full below:
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