Abuse of power & retaliationOversight & ethics enforcementCourts & justice
UK Supreme Court ruled the government's Rwanda asylum-removal scheme unlawful; the new government scrapped it in July 2024
Confidence: Confirmed · 3 sourcesUnited Kingdom · Oct 12, 2026
Subject of this story
Home Office
Also named
Oversight
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
What happened
On 15 November 2023 the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Rwanda was not a safe third country for asylum seekers removed from the UK, finding substantial grounds to believe they would face a real risk of refoulement, citing Rwanda's human-rights record and defects in its asylum system (Human Rights Watch). The Conservative government's response was emergency legislation to declare Rwanda safe. On 6 July 2024, at his first news conference after Labour's election win, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the scheme was scrapped, calling it 'dead and buried before it started' (Al Jazeera).
By the numbers (1)
● confirmed by a primary document · ○ reported
Roles
○
The UK Supreme Court ruled on November 15, 2023 that the government's plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful.
1 source
- Human Rights Watch
The UK's highest court ruled on November 15, 2023, that the government's plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful.
Sources (3)
UK Supreme Court (official press summary, case UKSC 2023/0093)The Supreme Court unanimously dismisses the Secretary of State's appeal... there are substantial grounds for believing that removed asylum seekers would be at real risk of refoulement.
Human Rights WatchThe UK's highest court ruled on November 15, 2023, that the government's plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful.
Al JazeeraStarmer said the Rwanda scheme was 'dead and buried before it started' ... never acted as a deterrent.
Response
Home Office
Statement given
Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.
What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.