The challenge comes as the Home Office began its first operations to detain illegal immigrants scheduled for removal to Rwanda.
A trade union representing civil servants has submitted an application for a judicial review of the government’s Rwanda plan on grounds the measures could force staff to break the Civil Service Code.
The FDA union said on Wednesday that under the terms of the Safety of Rwanda Act, a minister could direct civil servants to ignore an order from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) blocking a deportation. The union said this would conflict with the Civil Service Code which dictates that civil servants must act in accordance with the law, including international law.
FDA General Secretary Dave Penman said that the challenge “is not about the policy itself,” but that the union had to protect the interests of its members and the integrity of the code.
Mr. Penman said: “Civil servants know that they have to support the Government of the day and implement policy, regardless of their political beliefs, but they also know they have a legal obligation to adhere to the Civil Service Code.
“Faced with a government that is prepared to act in this cowardly, reckless way, it is left to the FDA to defend our members and the integrity of the civil service.”
A government spokesman said that the Home Office had already sought advice on ethics on the issue of the Civil Service Code and questions over the legality of implementing the Rwanda scheme.
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The government said advice from Darren Tierney, director-general of the Propriety and Constitution Group in the Cabinet Office, said the code would not be breached.
Mr. Tierney wrote to the Home Office earlier this week: “In implementing the decision, civil servants would be operating in accordance with the Civil Service Code, including the obligation not to frustrate the implementation of policies once decisions are taken.
“They would be operating in compliance with the law, which is the law enacted by Parliament under which the minister’s specifically recognised and confirmed discretion would be exercised.”
1st Group of Migrants Detained for Deportation
The challenge comes as immigration enforcement officers conducted operations across the UK in preparation of the first removal flights to Rwanda.
About 800 officers were involved in raids since Monday. Officials would not say how many people had been detained so far, but confirmed the number was more than two.
Eddy Montgomery, the senior director of enforcement, compliance, and crime, said it was “vital that operational detail is kept to a minimum, to protect colleagues involved and those being detained, as well as ensuring we can deliver this large-scale operation as quickly as possible.”
Illegal immigrants can only be detained if there is a realistic prospect of them being removed. If illegal immigrants have been detained for longer than four months, the Home Office may have to refer them for a bail hearing.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “Our dedicated enforcement teams are working at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here so we can get flights off the ground.
Undated handout photo issued by the Home Office of immigration officers carrying out a detention visit. (Home Office/PA Wire)“This is a complex piece of work, but we remain absolutely committed to operationalising the policy, to stop the boats and break the business model of people-smuggling gangs.”
Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it would take between ten and 12 weeks for removal flights to Rwanda to begin, meaning flights should start taking off in July.
Voluntary Removal to Rwanda
The Home Office confirmed to The Epoch Times on Wednesday that the UK had relocated a failed asylum seeker to Rwanda, under the Voluntary Returns Service (VRS), in a historic first.
The male opted for deportation via the VRS, which offers illegal immigrants a chance to return to their home country or be sent Rwanda. Depending on the country of return, an illegal immigrant can receive £3,000 to relocate.
“We are now able to send asylum seekers to Rwanda under our migration and economic development partnership. This deal allows people with no immigration status in the UK to be relocated to a safe third country where they will be supported to rebuild their lives,” a government spokesperson said.
Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the voluntary removal demonstrated that Rwanda was safe.
Ms. Badenoch told Times Radio that the UK should be “trumpeting” this voluntary removal.
“One of the big arguments about this scheme was that Rwanda was not a safe country. And actually people are volunteering to go there,” she said.
The minister added, “We need to get away from a lot of the myths about this African country, which is actually a leader on the continent in terms of what it’s been able to achieve, both economically and around law and order as well.”
PA Media contributed to this report.
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