Conservative rebels' attempt to overturn court rulings on Rwanda deportation flights fails

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A rebel Tory plan to pave the way for deportations of asylum seekers to Rwanda by ignoring court orders blocking flights has been defeated in the House of Commons.

Former Home Secretary Priti Patel was among 69 MPs backing the move, but the backbench bill did not receive government support and was voted down by 188 others, including four Tories.

Despite claims of support from Boris Johnson, the former Prime Minister did not vote on backbencher Jonathan Gullis' bill.

Mr. Gullis said his bill would reclaim "parliamentary sovereignty" over evictions by allowing the government to override rulings by the European Court of Human Rights and the UK High Court.

His supporters have claimed that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak - whose asylum package unveiled on Tuesday made no mention of the European Court - has broken his promise not to allow the Court "to prevent our ability to properly control our borders.”

Mr Johnson’s pleas for support came after the former prime minister helped force Mr Sunak to turn around on onshore wind farms, adding to the evidence that he will be a thorn in the side of his successor from the benches.

< p>Mr Gullis said: "The immigration lawyers were able to stop deportations to Rwanda thanks to appeals to the ECHR in Strasbourg.

"The British people place their trust in parliament, not in s irresponsible European courts. We believe that Parliament is the ultimate legislative body. Therefore, it is shocking that we have allowed these judgments to hamper our immigration policy.

Tory MPs who voted against his bill were former ministers David Davis and Sir Robert Buckland, Simon Hoare and the chairman of the Westminster cross-party migration group, David Simmonds.

Ms Patel, then Home Secretary, signed a deal with Rwanda to deport asylum seekers arriving in the UK, but the Brussels court issued an injunction before legal challenges in the UK Uni.

Many Tory MPs say this is the only way to break the business model of criminal gangs running Channel crossings - although the Home Office has produced no proof that it would.

On Tuesday, Sunak staked his credibility on the successful reduction in the number of crossings, which is expected to reach 50,000 this calendar year.

< p>New guidelines will make it possible to...