Mr Justice Swift refused to grant temporary relief – urgent action in response to an application for precautionary measures filed by four asylum seekers relocating to Rwanda with the charities Care4Calais and Detention Action and the Civil Servants Association. Interior Ministry officials, including more than 80% of Border Force personnel. Lawyers acting for asylum seekers and groups had argued that the policy was illegal and called for an urgent order to stop the scheduled flight next week and any other such flights before the case is fully heard later in the year. Justice Swift upheld the foreign minister’s case and rejected Rwanda’s request for a halt to the flight next Tuesday, but allowed the plaintiffs to appeal – suggesting that the court’s appeals court hear the case on Monday. Swift said there was a “material public interest” in allowing the foreign minister to enforce immigration control decisions. He also said that some of the risks of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda described by applicants were too small and “in the realm of speculation”. Pretty Patel welcomed the decision, saying: “People will continue to try to prevent their relocation through last minute legal challenges and claims, but we will not be discouraged from breaking the deadly human trafficking and ultimately saving lives. “Rwanda is a safe country and has been recognized in the past as providing a safe haven for refugees – we will continue to prepare for the first flight to Rwanda, along with a number of other measures aimed at reducing small boat crossings.” In his decision, Swift also denied temporary relief to two people facing deportation to Rwanda. “I accept that the removal of Rwanda will be burdensome,” the judge said. The plan to relocate asylum seekers offshore and outsource the refugee obligations of the United Kingdom, one of the richest countries in the world, to Rwanda – among the poorest – has been controversial since it was announced by the government on April 14. About 30 asylum seekers currently being held in immigration detention centers will be transferred there from a secret location in the UK by an unknown airline on Tuesday. It is the first of many legal challenges for politics to have a live hearing in the Supreme Court. The specific aspects of the policy challenged in court were the right of the Minister of the Interior, Priti Patel, to make such removals. the rationale for its claim that Rwanda is generally a “safe third country”; the adequacy of the provision for the prevention of malaria in Rwanda; and whether it complies with the Human Rights Act. Sonya Sceats, chief executive of the Freedom From Torture charity, said: “We are disappointed that the court did not issue this order to ensure that no one is sent to Rwanda until Boris Johnson’s harsh policies are properly investigated. “But the fight is far from over. People all over Britain are outraged that this government wants to send people to seek safety in half the world and take action. “The public has sent more than 15,000 letters to airlines suspected of being involved in relocations calling on them to exclude themselves and protests are being planned up and down the country. “We will use all available means to see that this neo-colonial cash system for people is abolished and to ensure that the United Kingdom is a safe place for people fleeing war, torture and persecution.”
