Ministers Can Keep Some Internal Documents On Rwandan Migration Policy Secret Supreme Court Rules Political News

A handful of charities and several asylum seekers are challenging the Home Office over proposals to provide one-way tickets to the east African country for those entering the UK on small boats across the Channel. Flights have so far been suspended due to last-minute legal challenges. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) sought to withhold 10 passages from two documents ahead of a major hearing in September into the legality of the plan. On Tuesday, the court heard that the Home Office had previously asked an FCDO official with knowledge of the area to review the Rwanda Policy and Information Note, a document summarizing the country’s conditions. The FCDO claimed that comments added to the draft and emails from the official could not be shared due to public interest immunity as they could damage international relations. On Wednesday, Lord Justice Lewis ruled that four of the passages could be withheld, as well as certain specific words in others, under public interest immunity. It found that some of the redacted words were already in the public domain and had “evidential significance” to the main challenge against the Home Office, so could be shared. Lord Justice Lewis said other words were not public and would cause “serious harm to the public interest” if revealed. Christopher Knight, representing eight asylum seekers, the Public and Commercial Services union, Detention Action and Care4Calais, opposed the bid to keep the documents redacted and said the Home Office had already provided “a significant body of evidence to counter the critical views of the Government for the Government of Rwanda’. Mr Knight cited one of the documents written by the unnamed FCDO official, in which he said torture and “even murder” were acceptable in Rwanda. Image: Deportation flights to Rwanda have been stymied by legal challenges in recent months In July, court documents revealed that the UK High Commissioner to Rwanda warned against the proposal, as the country “has been accused of recruiting refugees to carry out armed operations in neighboring countries”. Rwanda was originally excluded from the list of potential partner countries for the Home Office’s proposed migration policy on human rights grounds, according to the documents. The recommendation was not to pursue Rwanda as an option, but the government went ahead with it anyway. Clare Moseley, founder of refugee charity Care4Calais, one of the charities that launched the challenge, said “the public has a right to know” about all the information. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:22 Liz Truss pledges to deport illegal immigrants “If we want to go down the path of this shockingly brutal policy – a policy that could make our country complicit in human rights abuses – then the public has a right to control the decisions that are made,” he said. “Previously leaked documents show the Foreign Office warned the government that refugees should not be sent to Rwanda because of its poor human rights record. “The Home Office needs to stop trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes and be straight with them. Rwanda’s politics are brutal and inhumane, it won’t work and the Home Office and its ministers know it.” Lord Justice Lewis said two of the passages contained “relatively brief general comments, partly couched in loose and imprecise language”. “I emphasize that I express no view on the merits of any of the claims for judicial review and express no view as to whether or not any of the grounds of challenge will be made,” he added. “This decision is solely concerned with the issue of whether or not particular parts of the evidence should be withheld on grounds of public interest immunity.”

title: “Ministers Can Keep Some Internal Documents On Rwandan Migration Policy Secret Supreme Court Rules Political News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-08” author: “Timothy Klein”

A handful of charities and several asylum seekers are challenging the Home Office over proposals to provide one-way tickets to the east African country for those entering the UK on small boats across the Channel. Flights have so far been suspended due to last-minute legal challenges. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) sought to withhold 10 passages from two documents ahead of a major hearing in September into the legality of the plan. On Tuesday, the court heard that the Home Office had previously asked an FCDO official with knowledge of the area to review the Rwanda Policy and Information Note, a document summarizing the country’s conditions. The FCDO claimed that comments added to the draft and emails from the official could not be shared due to public interest immunity as they could damage international relations. On Wednesday, Lord Justice Lewis ruled that four of the passages could be withheld, as well as certain specific words in others, under public interest immunity. It found that some of the redacted words were already in the public domain and had “evidential significance” to the main challenge against the Home Office, so could be shared. Lord Justice Lewis said other words were not public and would cause “serious harm to the public interest” if revealed. Christopher Knight, representing eight asylum seekers, the Public and Commercial Services union, Detention Action and Care4Calais, opposed the bid to keep the documents redacted and said the Home Office had already provided “a significant body of evidence to counter the critical views of the Government for the Government of Rwanda’. Mr Knight cited one of the documents written by the unnamed FCDO official, in which he said torture and “even murder” were acceptable in Rwanda. Image: Deportation flights to Rwanda have been stymied by legal challenges in recent months In July, court documents revealed that the UK High Commissioner to Rwanda warned against the proposal, as the country “has been accused of recruiting refugees to carry out armed operations in neighboring countries”. Rwanda was originally excluded from the list of potential partner countries for the Home Office’s proposed migration policy on human rights grounds, according to the documents. The recommendation was not to pursue Rwanda as an option, but the government went ahead with it anyway. Clare Moseley, founder of refugee charity Care4Calais, one of the charities that launched the challenge, said “the public has a right to know” about all the information. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:22 Liz Truss pledges to deport illegal immigrants “If we want to go down the path of this shockingly brutal policy – a policy that could make our country complicit in human rights abuses – then the public has a right to control the decisions that are made,” he said. “Previously leaked documents show the Foreign Office warned the government that refugees should not be sent to Rwanda because of its poor human rights record. “The Home Office needs to stop trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes and be straight with them. Rwanda’s politics are brutal and inhumane, it won’t work and the Home Office and its ministers know it.” Lord Justice Lewis said two of the passages contained “relatively brief general comments, partly couched in loose and imprecise language”. “I emphasize that I express no view on the merits of any of the claims for judicial review and express no view as to whether or not any of the grounds of challenge will be made,” he added. “This decision is solely concerned with the issue of whether or not particular parts of the evidence should be withheld on grounds of public interest immunity.”

title: “Ministers Can Keep Some Internal Documents On Rwandan Migration Policy Secret Supreme Court Rules Political News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-07” author: “Tommy Zmolek”

A handful of charities and several asylum seekers are challenging the Home Office over proposals to provide one-way tickets to the east African country for those entering the UK on small boats across the Channel. Flights have so far been suspended due to last-minute legal challenges. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) sought to withhold 10 passages from two documents ahead of a major hearing in September into the legality of the plan. On Tuesday, the court heard that the Home Office had previously asked an FCDO official with knowledge of the area to review the Rwanda Policy and Information Note, a document summarizing the country’s conditions. The FCDO claimed that comments added to the draft and emails from the official could not be shared due to public interest immunity as they could damage international relations. On Wednesday, Lord Justice Lewis ruled that four of the passages could be withheld, as well as certain specific words in others, under public interest immunity. It found that some of the redacted words were already in the public domain and had “evidential significance” to the main challenge against the Home Office, so could be shared. Lord Justice Lewis said other words were not public and would cause “serious harm to the public interest” if revealed. Christopher Knight, representing eight asylum seekers, the Public and Commercial Services union, Detention Action and Care4Calais, opposed the bid to keep the documents redacted and said the Home Office had already provided “a significant body of evidence to counter the critical views of the Government for the Government of Rwanda’. Mr Knight cited one of the documents written by the unnamed FCDO official, in which he said torture and “even murder” were acceptable in Rwanda. Image: Deportation flights to Rwanda have been stymied by legal challenges in recent months In July, court documents revealed that the UK High Commissioner to Rwanda warned against the proposal, as the country “has been accused of recruiting refugees to carry out armed operations in neighboring countries”. Rwanda was originally excluded from the list of potential partner countries for the Home Office’s proposed migration policy on human rights grounds, according to the documents. The recommendation was not to pursue Rwanda as an option, but the government went ahead with it anyway. Clare Moseley, founder of refugee charity Care4Calais, one of the charities that launched the challenge, said “the public has a right to know” about all the information. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:22 Liz Truss pledges to deport illegal immigrants “If we want to go down the path of this shockingly brutal policy – a policy that could make our country complicit in human rights abuses – then the public has a right to control the decisions that are made,” he said. “Previously leaked documents show the Foreign Office warned the government that refugees should not be sent to Rwanda because of its poor human rights record. “The Home Office needs to stop trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes and be straight with them. Rwanda’s politics are brutal and inhumane, it won’t work and the Home Office and its ministers know it.” Lord Justice Lewis said two of the passages contained “relatively brief general comments, partly couched in loose and imprecise language”. “I emphasize that I express no view on the merits of any of the claims for judicial review and express no view as to whether or not any of the grounds of challenge will be made,” he added. “This decision is solely concerned with the issue of whether or not particular parts of the evidence should be withheld on grounds of public interest immunity.”

title: “Ministers Can Keep Some Internal Documents On Rwandan Migration Policy Secret Supreme Court Rules Political News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-26” author: “Sarah Henrickson”

A handful of charities and several asylum seekers are challenging the Home Office over proposals to provide one-way tickets to the east African country for those entering the UK on small boats across the Channel. Flights have so far been suspended due to last-minute legal challenges. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) sought to withhold 10 passages from two documents ahead of a major hearing in September into the legality of the plan. On Tuesday, the court heard that the Home Office had previously asked an FCDO official with knowledge of the area to review the Rwanda Policy and Information Note, a document summarizing the country’s conditions. The FCDO claimed that comments added to the draft and emails from the official could not be shared due to public interest immunity as they could damage international relations. On Wednesday, Lord Justice Lewis ruled that four of the passages could be withheld, as well as certain specific words in others, under public interest immunity. It found that some of the redacted words were already in the public domain and had “evidential significance” to the main challenge against the Home Office, so could be shared. Lord Justice Lewis said other words were not public and would cause “serious harm to the public interest” if revealed. Christopher Knight, representing eight asylum seekers, the Public and Commercial Services union, Detention Action and Care4Calais, opposed the bid to keep the documents redacted and said the Home Office had already provided “a significant body of evidence to counter the critical views of the Government for the Government of Rwanda’. Mr Knight cited one of the documents written by the unnamed FCDO official, in which he said torture and “even murder” were acceptable in Rwanda. Image: Deportation flights to Rwanda have been stymied by legal challenges in recent months In July, court documents revealed that the UK High Commissioner to Rwanda warned against the proposal, as the country “has been accused of recruiting refugees to carry out armed operations in neighboring countries”. Rwanda was originally excluded from the list of potential partner countries for the Home Office’s proposed migration policy on human rights grounds, according to the documents. The recommendation was not to pursue Rwanda as an option, but the government went ahead with it anyway. Clare Moseley, founder of refugee charity Care4Calais, one of the charities that launched the challenge, said “the public has a right to know” about all the information. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:22 Liz Truss pledges to deport illegal immigrants “If we want to go down the path of this shockingly brutal policy – a policy that could make our country complicit in human rights abuses – then the public has a right to control the decisions that are made,” he said. “Previously leaked documents show the Foreign Office warned the government that refugees should not be sent to Rwanda because of its poor human rights record. “The Home Office needs to stop trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes and be straight with them. Rwanda’s politics are brutal and inhumane, it won’t work and the Home Office and its ministers know it.” Lord Justice Lewis said two of the passages contained “relatively brief general comments, partly couched in loose and imprecise language”. “I emphasize that I express no view on the merits of any of the claims for judicial review and express no view as to whether or not any of the grounds of challenge will be made,” he added. “This decision is solely concerned with the issue of whether or not particular parts of the evidence should be withheld on grounds of public interest immunity.”

title: “Ministers Can Keep Some Internal Documents On Rwandan Migration Policy Secret Supreme Court Rules Political News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-13” author: “David Romero”

A handful of charities and several asylum seekers are challenging the Home Office over proposals to provide one-way tickets to the east African country for those entering the UK on small boats across the Channel. Flights have so far been suspended due to last-minute legal challenges. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) sought to withhold 10 passages from two documents ahead of a major hearing in September into the legality of the plan. On Tuesday, the court heard that the Home Office had previously asked an FCDO official with knowledge of the area to review the Rwanda Policy and Information Note, a document summarizing the country’s conditions. The FCDO claimed that comments added to the draft and emails from the official could not be shared due to public interest immunity as they could damage international relations. On Wednesday, Lord Justice Lewis ruled that four of the passages could be withheld, as well as certain specific words in others, under public interest immunity. It found that some of the redacted words were already in the public domain and had “evidential significance” to the main challenge against the Home Office, so could be shared. Lord Justice Lewis said other words were not public and would cause “serious harm to the public interest” if revealed. Christopher Knight, representing eight asylum seekers, the Public and Commercial Services union, Detention Action and Care4Calais, opposed the bid to keep the documents redacted and said the Home Office had already provided “a significant body of evidence to counter the critical views of the Government for the Government of Rwanda’. Mr Knight cited one of the documents written by the unnamed FCDO official, in which he said torture and “even murder” were acceptable in Rwanda. Image: Deportation flights to Rwanda have been stymied by legal challenges in recent months In July, court documents revealed that the UK High Commissioner to Rwanda warned against the proposal, as the country “has been accused of recruiting refugees to carry out armed operations in neighboring countries”. Rwanda was originally excluded from the list of potential partner countries for the Home Office’s proposed migration policy on human rights grounds, according to the documents. The recommendation was not to pursue Rwanda as an option, but the government went ahead with it anyway. Clare Moseley, founder of refugee charity Care4Calais, one of the charities that launched the challenge, said “the public has a right to know” about all the information. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:22 Liz Truss pledges to deport illegal immigrants “If we want to go down the path of this shockingly brutal policy – a policy that could make our country complicit in human rights abuses – then the public has a right to control the decisions that are made,” he said. “Previously leaked documents show the Foreign Office warned the government that refugees should not be sent to Rwanda because of its poor human rights record. “The Home Office needs to stop trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes and be straight with them. Rwanda’s politics are brutal and inhumane, it won’t work and the Home Office and its ministers know it.” Lord Justice Lewis said two of the passages contained “relatively brief general comments, partly couched in loose and imprecise language”. “I emphasize that I express no view on the merits of any of the claims for judicial review and express no view as to whether or not any of the grounds of challenge will be made,” he added. “This decision is solely concerned with the issue of whether or not particular parts of the evidence should be withheld on grounds of public interest immunity.”