PITILESS Tory plans to deport refugees to Rwanda were ruled illegal by the Supreme Court today, plunging Rishi Sunak’s government deeper into chaos.

The court determined that Rwanda was not a safe destination for asylum-seekers and that there was a high risk of them being returned to their country of origin to be tortured or worse, thus torpedoing what is a flagship Tory policy.

The defiant Prime Minister pledged to fight on to stop destitute refugees crossing the Channel, responding to the judgement by asserting that “illegal migration destroys lives and costs British taxpayers millions of pounds a year. We need to end it and we will do whatever it takes to do so.”

He later claimed that the judges had agreed that the “principle of removing asylum-seekers to a safe third country is lawful” and told MPs he was ready to “revisit” UK laws to block migration if necessary and to seek a fresh treaty with Rwanda.

Civil Service union PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka was therefore right to warn “that our campaigning against this government’s dangerous anti-refugee agenda is far from over.

“It is not refugees that have driven down wages and starved public services of the resources they need — it is the fault of successive Tory governments that have overseen a sustained attack on living standards.”

Some of Ms Braverman’s supporters demanded today that the government respond by quitting or bypassing the European Convention on Human Rights, although the court made plain that the Rwanda policy would still be unlawful even if Britain were not a party to the convention.

Others went further, with Conservative party deputy chairman Lee Anderson calling for the government to simply ignore the court judgment altogether and “put planes in the air” to Rwanda anyway.

Labour ducked the moral issues raised by the policy, with leader Sir Keir Starmer and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper focusing instead on the waste of money and time involved in the failed Rwanda policy.  

The judges’ decision was, however, welcomed by a wide range of human rights campaigners.

Amnesty International’s Sacha Deshmukh said: “The government must now draw a line under a disgraceful chapter in the UK’s political history.

“The deal with Rwanda — a country with a track record of serious human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, torture and the repression of free speech — was massively ill-conceived and cruel.”

Steve Smith, of refugee charity Care4Calais, called the court decision “a victory for humanity.”

He said: “This grubby, cash-for-people deal was always cruel and immoral but, most importantly, it is unlawful.

“Today’s judgement should bring this shameful mark on the UK’s history to a close.”

Fiona Rutherford, chief executive of Justice, said:  “We urge the government to finally deliver asylum policies that respect the rights of people who have lost so much and are simply trying to rebuild their lives and rejoin their loved ones.” 

And Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said: “This is a victory for the rights of men, women and children who simply want to be safe. 

“The government should be focusing on creating a functioning asylum system that allows people who seek safety in the UK a fair hearing on our soil and provides safe routes so they don’t have to take dangerous journeys.”

Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman tied the court rebuff to the recently dispatched home secretary’s departure, saying: “It is quite fitting that this vile and racist plan has been rejected only days after Suella Braverman was finally forced out of office. It must go with her.”