Danny challenges Flick Drummond on Rwanda policy

Danny Chambers and Cllr. John Tippett-Cooper (St Bartholemew ward) have written to Flick Drummond MP to seek clarification on her position on the governments unlawful plan to deport seekers of asylum to Rwanda.

Read the full letter below:

RE: The Unlawful Rwanda Immigration Policy

Dear Mrs Flick Drummond MP,

We write with serious concern about the direction of the Conservative Government with respect to the rule of law and the treatment of refugees.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Government’s notorious Rwanda policy is unlawful on the grounds that Rwanda is not considered to be safe.

In response to the judgment, the Prime Minister has said the Government will simply pass emergency legislation to officially recognise Rwanda as a safe country in order to start deporting refugees.

Despite the fact that this judgment came from the UK Supreme Court, the Prime Minister has stated that he will not allow a “foreign court” to stop flights deporting refugees to Rwanda.

The indication from the Prime Minister is that the Government will simply ignore parts of the European Convention on Human Rights, or perhaps campaign to withdraw from it entirely at the next general election. Were we to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, we would join Russia who were expelled in 2022 after their illegal invasion of Ukraine.

The Conservative Party Deputy Chairman, Lee Anderson, even suggested we should go further and simply ignore our own UK laws. The Conservatives used to style themselves as the Party of Law and Order - that’s clearly a distant memory.

People in Winchester are proud that our city is committed to becoming a ‘City of Sanctuary’ for Refugees and People Seeking Asylum - we have welcomed many Ukrainian, Afghan and other international families into our communities with open arms.

We would like to better understand your position on this issue.

Would you resign from the Conservative Party if the government decided to break both international and UK law?

Yours sincerely,

Dr Danny Chambers MRCVS

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Winchester

Cllr John Tippett-Cooper

Winchester City Council City of Sanctuary Champion