Rishi Sunak has drawn the ire of critics after he last week vowed to quit the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if Strasbourg continues to block attempts to get flights to Rwanda.
In a desperate bid to get flights off the ground, he said that controlling illegal migration is “more important” than membership of the ECHR.
The PM added that he would not let a “foreign court” interfere with a policy that is “fundamental to our sovereignty”.
He defended policies put in place by the Government to clamp down on legal migration, saying that restricting visas for dependents and boosting salary thresholds will “essentially halve the level of net legal migration into this country, reduce them by around 300,000”.
Speaking to the Sun about illegal migration, the Prime Minister said: “I speak [as] someone who comes from a family of immigrants.
“Our country is built on the notion of fairness. It’s central to our national character.
“Of course, we’re a welcoming and tolerant people, and my own personal story is an example of that, but that’s got to be done fairly.
“And when people jump the queue, come here illegally, and then put pressure on public services in the way that they do, and we’re not able to remove them in the way that we want to, that’s not right.”
The ECHR also issued a controversial ruling which will now force governments to protect people from the effects of climate change.
Since his announcement last week, critics have hit out at the PM.
Former Chief immigration officer at the UK Border Force, Kevin Saunders, told GB News that we “should leave the EHCH tomorrow” because it is “complete and utter nonsense”.
However, broadcaster and journalist Nina Meyerhof argued that by leaving we would be “turning our back on democracy”.
__Should the UK leave the ECHR? Have your say in our poll above__
