DAILY MAIL COMMENT: PM's last chance to get Rwanda off the ground

The gloating progressives who want to throw open Britain's doors to unrestricted migration were cheering to the rafters yesterday after the Government's Rwanda plan was struck down.

At the end of an interminable legal battle, the Supreme Court declared the flagship scheme to be unlawful – meaning asylum seekers cannot be sent there for processing.

To be clear, the five senior judges did not say the African nation was intrinsically unsafe. Their concern was the danger that refugees might be returned to their country of origin to face persecution or worse.

This was a crushing blow for Rishi Sunak. The Prime Minister has placed stopping small boats packed with migrants from crossing the Channel at the heart of his agenda.

And the timing of the ruling could not have been worse. Less than 24 hours earlier, sacked home secretary Suella Braverman had eviscerated the PM, openly accusing him of trying to frustrate action on the Rwanda deterrent.

The opinion polls are appalling enough already for the Tories without the public being told No 10 is deceiving them over its attempt to curb illegal immigration.

In the 2016 referendum and the election three years later, this country voted decisively to take back control of our borders. The court ruling scorns those mandates.

Along with the sanctimonious migration lobby and lawyers who make a fat living out of exploiting our weak and over-generous asylum system, criminal traffickers will be thrilled by this judgment.

If it could be shown that simply reaching the UK was no longer a ticket to remaining here indefinitely, but a one-way boarding pass to Africa instead, it was hoped the gangs' business model would be broken and the boats would stop.

But Leftie lawyers and the judiciary can shoulder only some of the blame for the Rwanda plan's failure. Downing Street must also accept responsibility.

If the picture Mrs Braverman paints is remotely accurate, Mr Sunak has refused to drive through the radical legal changes needed to make sure it was bombproof.

The setback in the Supreme Court seems to have jolted him to his senses – and not a moment too soon. With Tory MPs on the warpath, the PM has no option but to get on the front foot – and the stalled asylum flights off the ground.

A new international treaty with Rwanda aims to allay concerns about refugees being subsequently sent back to their homelands, while emergency legislation will ensure Parliament designates it a safe country.

Mr Sunak also said he would do 'whatever is necessary' to stop European judges meddling in our affairs. This means he must be prepared to disapply the European Convention on Human Rights and three other treaties in immigration cases.

This would answer once and for all the vexed question of who runs Britain: Our sovereign Parliament or unelected judges over whom we have no say?

Mr Sunak has pledged to pull out all the stops to get the Rwanda scheme up and running. Of course, he's said it before. This time it's crucial he acts because the public's patience on this can't wear much thinner.

Stand up to tech giants 

In last week's King's Speech, Mr Sunak pledged to protect the free Press and give aspiring tech businesses freedom to thrive.

So why is Downing Street watering down new laws to tame the Silicon Valley web giants? That would do the exact opposite.

Handing Google and others greater power to challenge the Digital Markets Unit watchdog over decisions they dislike risks them using their vast financial and legal muscle to stifle British companies and wriggle out of fair payment for news content – harming the media.

Mr Sunak has already faced accusations that he is much too close to the tech giants. He should stand up to them – not kowtow.