Rwanda court showdown threat as 'civil servants will be ordered to break law'

02 May 2024 , 08:27

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The Home Office has started rounding up asylum seekers for deportation

The Government could face a another court showdown over its divisive Rwanda plan - amid fears civil servants will be forced to break the law.

A trade union representing senior public officials has submitted an application for a judicial review against the Government's controversial deportation deal. It comes after the Home Office confirmed it has started rounding up the first wave of people to be sent to the African nation.

The FDA said it is worried that ministers may decided to ignore orders from the European Court of Human Rights. But the union warns that staff required to do so could be in breach of the Civil Service Code - which requires them to stick to the law.

General secretary Dave Penman said it was not a decision the union had taken lightly, adding: "The Government has had plenty of time to include an explicit provision in the Act regarding breaking international law commitments which would have resolved this but it chose not to. 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.

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"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. We have been clear all along that our challenge is not about the policy itself - that is a matter for Parliament.

"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."

Mr Penman said the union had to protect the interests of its members and the integrity of the Civil Service Code. A Government spokesMAn said: "The Home Office already sought advice from the director general of proprietary and ethics in the Cabinet Office on the issue of the Civil Service Code and claims over the legality of implementing the Rwanda deportation scheme under the new legislation."

In a letter to the Cabinet Office, Home Office chiefs said: "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.

"The code does not require or enable civil servants to decide not to do so, and so to frustrate the will of Parliament and ministers, on the basis that non-compliance with a Rule 39 indication would or might be a breach of Article 34 ECHR."

Dave Burke