MEDDLING Euro judges are on the brink of finally letting Britain deport migrants to Rwanda.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman is confident of halting 11th-hour orders blocking the flights after revealing UK officials have held secret talks with the European Court of Human Rights.
Suella Braverman attends a ceremony to mark the beginning of construction for a new building project in Kigali
The Home Secretary signs a deal with Vincent Biruta in Kigali
Rwanda, in Africa, is 3,975 miles from Britain
She said: “I’ve been encouraged by the Government’s constructive recent discussions.”
The Home Secretary wants the first plane to jet there this summer — as it emerged the Government is winning its battle with interfering Euro judges.
Ms Braverman also blasted critics of her policy for their “snobbery and unjustified negativity”.
On her final day in the African nation, she told Trending In The News: “I’d call it a blessing (to be resettled here).
“I’ve met refugees from several countries here, who are enormously grateful for the sanctuary Rwanda has provided. Education opportunities, security, a home . . .
“It will provide these vulnerable people with a prosperous future.”
Last year the first flight of asylum seekers was halted by an 11th-hour order from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
PM Rishi Sunak’s Illegal Migration Bill, due before the Commons this week, aims to allow ministers to swerve such ECHR orders.
Ms Braverman revealed that officials have been in secret talks with Strasbourg, and made progress.
A government source added: “This would remove a key barrier to getting flights off the ground.”
Ms Braverman said: “The Government has been clear the opaque Strasbourg process which led to the grounding was deeply flawed.
“That’s why we have measures in our Bill that will address how the UK intends to comply with such orders in future.
“I’ve been encouraged by the Government’s constructive recent discussions with Strasbourg, including around possible reforms to Rule 39 procedures, which is obviously something we’d like to see.”
The Government is also awaiting a Court of Appeal judgment next month on the legality of its deportation policy, but remains confident.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has branded the £140million Rwanda deal “deeply unethical and extortionately expensive”.
Labour has claimed it will not work.
Ms Braverman hit back: “Labour reacts in a knee-jerk and prejudiced way. And I regret the snobbery and unjustified negativity that critics throw at our partnership.”
On Saturday she signed a expanded deal with foreign minister Vincent Biruta to cover all those who illegally enter the UK, not just asylum seekers.
Ms Braverman visits a business management academy in Kigali
The Home Secretary performs the coin toss to determine who will bat first
President Paul Kagame yesterday assured her his country will always have capacity for thousands of our refugees.
After visiting a Kigali development that will house them, Ms Braverman said: “We’ve got over 40,000 people in UK hotels costing £6million a day. One of those units that we just saw could provide a home for 300 families for life.”
Radio host James O’Brien tweeted a photo of her laughing on a building site and jibed: “Exactly 200 years after William Wilberforce founded the Anti-Slavery Society, here’s Suella Braverman at a facility to which she hopes to deport trafficked victims of modern slavery.”
She said: “I don’t know if James O’Brien has visited Rwanda. I invite him to come here before casting aspersions on this beautiful, welcoming country.
“ I do have a thick skin. I don’t look a lot at social media and Twitter is not the real world. What is the real world is people in my constituency, and when I speak to them they reinforce their support for the policy, that’s what keeps me positive.”
Cabinet minister Oliver Dowden said he “doesn’t relish” sending migrants to Rwanda but said Britain had no other option — and aimed to stop boat arrivals by the next election.
Ms Braverman told Trending In The News: ‘I’d call it a blessing (to be resettled here)’
