Rishi Sunak refuses to commit to leaving ECHR

In 2022 the first deportation flights to Rwanda were blocked by an injunction from the Strasbourg court, which rules on alleged breaches of the convention.

The government’s Safety of Rwanda Act, which became law in April and seeks to revive the government’s Rwanda plan, gives ministers the powers to ignore the court’s injunctions.

The aim of the policy is to deter people from coming to the UK illegally and it is central to the PM’s promise to stop people crossing the Channel in small boats.

However, no deportation flights have taken off to the east African country yet.

Mr Sunak has pledged that flights will take off in July if his party wins the election.

The Tory manifesto promises “a relentless, continual process of permanently removing illegal migrants to Rwanda with a regular rhythm of flights every month, starting this July, until the boats are stopped”.

It also says the party wants to “work with other countries to reform international laws to make them fit for an age of mass migration”.