Civil servants are attempting to stop Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda plan by mounting a legal challenge to the legislation – the first time civil servants have attempted to block a Government policy in the courts. The Telegraph has more.
The FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, has submitted an application for a judicial review over concerns that Home Office staff could be in breach of international law if they implement the Prime Minister’s Safety of Rwanda Act.
They say civil servants could be in violation of the Civil Service code – and open to possible prosecution – if they followed a minister’s demands to ignore an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights banning a deportation.
The Act gives ministers the power to decide whether to comply with a Rule 39 order made by the Strasbourg court, one of which grounded the first flight to Rwanda in June 2022. Civil servants have been instructed that they must defer to ministers over such decisions.
Dave Penman, FDA general secretary, said: “Civil servants should never be left in a position where they are conflicted between the instructions of ministers and adhering to the Civil Service code, yet that is exactly what the Government has chosen to do.
“This is not an accident, or down to poor drafting. It’s a political choice from the Government, made not for the good of the country but to avoid upsetting either of the warring factions within its own party.
“It’s also irresponsible. Those seeking to undermine the integrity and impartiality of the civil service have seized on the difficulties the Government has had in implementing this policy, to accuse civil servants of acting politically.”
It is thought to be the first time civil servants have attempted to block a government policy in the courts.
It seems we’ll find out how enforceable international law really is.
Worth reading in full.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
I believe Arsenal football club are sponsored by visit Rawanda. You couldn’t make it up!
Maybe they could all do a Lineker & have a couple each in their nice Hampstead Pads ! What an F ing joke ! Stop the World
I need to get off 
!
These privileged types think this mass invasion of cultures that are not compatible with post enlightenment will not effect them or their kids. They may be in for a nasty surprise, we can all take the ‘wrong turn’ one day!
I have thought that for quite a while !
These idiots somehow think that they will be able to carry on blindly living in their own sort of parallel existence untouched by the mayhem that they have caused !!!
The more I learn about the creatures that inhabit the echo chamber that is the cesspit of the civil service, the more I understand they are an unwitting part of the deep state. Useful idiots that have taken on the holy mantle of the lefts unhinged ideology.
I notice the violation of the Nuremberg Code didn’t worry then one bit.
Useful idiots that have taken on the holy mantle of the lefts unhinged ideology.
It’s a safe bet that these are mostly Labour party members (or members of organisations afiliated with Labour) who were moved into the civil service to ensure continued Labour dominance of British politics regardless of the outcome of actual elections. They’re not decidedly not “useful idiots”, they’re doing this intentionally and in full knowledge of what it is. Ordinary people have to obey acts of parliament. But not Labour servants as these are above the law. Or so their theory goes.,
“Those seeking to undermine the integrity and impartiality of the civil service” is laughable in an extremely tragic way. They are about as impartial as a man United fan at Anfield. This is a non-case and should be immediately dismissed: as the article says “Civil servants have been instructed that they must defer to ministers over such decisions”, therefore, there is no onus on a civil servant.
One of the major reasons I am now a committed Reform supporter is because the Tories refused to remove the Left’s power in the Civil Service. How did they expect to be able to run the country when Labour were still in charge of almost everything including the BBC?
Spot on. The Gramscian capture of the civil service, education and most publicly funded instititions has been ongoing since the 1960s. What have the tories been doing to stop “the slow march” – particularly in the last 25 years?
They been joining them, hence Uni-party.
Agree entirely with you first paragraph, but not your second. As long as we play nicely within their game, for which they have rigged the rules, we lose. Every time. Your vote is meaningless. I hope at some point in the future – it may well not be in my lifetime – that enough people will realise that democracy is an illusion, and that a critical mass will build to enact real change. That will not be done through the ballot box, which simply tells them you’re still playing, but think you’re not.
I think the more people awaken with Russell Brand….The better!
The Marxists basically. Not forgetting all those Labour created Think Tanks. Not sure if they created Common Purpose but that “charity” seems to have its tentacles in everything.
While I have no doubt the Civil Service all too often act with relish to frustrate government plans, this could well be a real concern. Our politicians are so weak. It’s been clear for a long long time those claiming asylum are utilising a simple formulaic path through the law relying on the fact the human rights act is designed to always ensure a safety-net in the event of the null case – the case where information isn’t available. It is then inevitable, throw all your papers away and you will eventually succeed. So it seems to me probable, in this case, the government, consisting of weak and fearful politicians incapable of using the word “no” have wanted at all costs not to have to grasp the nettle and pull out of the ECHR. Instead they will have been pushing civil servants using words like “can you kind of push this through please,” “just get it done,” putting them is a bind where the real issue is Rishi Sunak needs to do the job properly and ensure the law is changed and the ECHR either replaced with a new treaty (surely there are other countries now similarly minded) or withdrawn from (most likely the latter).
I doubt Sunak is all that interested in really halting illegal immigration – he has just chosen to pretend he is presumably to perpetuate the lie that there is a mainstream party in the UK that represents the political right.
As I have posted many times Sunak doesn’t care one iota about this country. Not a jot. He is working for the Davos Deviants and does as he is told. All his announcements are intended to facilitate the pretence that he is a conservative while the reality is that he is doing diddly squat except undermining the country.
A bunch of privileged parasites deserving of utter contempt in my view.
These “Civil Servants” need to have the Reagan Policy applied to them. Sack the lot for refusing to do their jobs.
I worked for some years in the Civil Service. Egregious failures / breaches of the Civil Service code occurred on a daily basis and the higher the grade the more outrageous the breaches. Pointing these breaches out inevitably resulted in the wagging finger.
This is really completely incredible: Union functionaries with no political mandate whatsoever accusing the government of making political choices which are not for the of country. That’s usually the default position of his majesty’s opposition and whether something was or wasn’t good for the country is supposed to be decided by the electorate via voting.
Civil servants should never have the right to form ‘trade unions’ as their occupation is not a trade and the people behind this mock lawsuit trying to override the declared will of parliament ought to be dismissed in disgrace¹ because of insubordination now.
¹ This means stripping them of any titles of honour they may have got and of their pension entitlements.
Yet more evidence of the Globalist plan to establish a Global Kritocracy = “Rule by Judges”, in which every aspect of the citizens’ lives will be subject to the scrutiny of judges, who are already trampling upon the legislative and executive branches of governments everywhere in the world.
The “FDA Union”; FDA stands for “First Division Association” which is a fast track career path for high flying civil servants, mostly from Oxbridge. A towering edifice of unbelievable smugness and superiority. I should know, I used to date one years ago
Ghastly people. You may be allowed into their cosy fake socialist North London Club provided you follow their rules. By the way they are all « poor » and have trouble with their mortgages and bills despite having what others would think are very comfortable incomes. There is always at least one token non-white in their circles but you find they are privileged too, Oxbridge, moneyed parents. Hanging on with their fingernails to status and always climbing the greasy pole of ambition to the end of their days. Should you dare pierce this veil of hypocrisy you will be socially and any other way cancelled. L’enfer c’est les Autres applies to this lot and I never want to be part of them again