The government’s Rwanda plan, devised to tackle illegal migration, has been dismissed by the Supreme Court, ending over 18 months of legal battles in UK courts.

Lord Reed announced his judgment in the Supreme Court on the deportation scheme, which would see those arriving in the UK illegally – including via small boats – deported to the east African nation.

It had been announced by Boris Johnson in April 2022. He and successive prime ministers all claimed the policy would act as a deterrent to those seeking to cross the Channel, as well as help to break up people-smuggling gangs.

Lord Reed pointed out that the Supreme Court is “required to decide” whether the policy is “lawful” – adding that it is a “legal question” and the court is “not concerned with the political debate” about the scheme.

He said the basis of the decision was made on international law. This includes the European Convention on Human Rights, but also various UN treaties.

Follow political reaction live here

Refugee charities have consistently called the proposal “inhumane” and said it breaks human rights laws, while opposition parties have deemed the plan a “gimmick”.

Suella Braverman accuses Sunak of ‘betraying’ secret deal to ensure her support in leadership contest

Rwanda ruling could reopen splits in the Tory party – and the stakes are now even higher for PM | Beth Rigby

‘Political suicide’: Grassroots Tories’ fury at Rishi Sunak after sacking Suella Braverman revealed in leaked WhatsApps

An injunction from the European Court of Human Rights stopped the first flight to Rwanda from taking off in June last year and the scheme has been embroiled in litigation ever since, meaning no asylum seekers have yet been deported to the country.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Related posts:

‘Supermoon’ in UK skies this week – here’s when you can see it ‘It should be classed as kidnap’: Parliament set to debate proposals to make it easier to find stolen pets ‘Olympic gold seemed a million miles off’: How Tom Dean battled back from COVID to win big in Tokyo Family raising money to bring home teacher who fell from balcony South London murder equals highest ever annual number of teenage homicides in the capital Greenpeace stages protest to block oil tanker from docking Greek pilot who claimed his British wife was killed by intruders convicted of her killing ‘Pure evil’ man jailed for murder of teenager who rejected sexual advances Former MP ‘tried to claim taxpayers’ cash to fund significant cocaine habit’ Klimt portrait becomes most expensive artwork auctioned in Europe, selling for £85.3m Man, 36, charged with murder of Sarah Henshaw after body found near M1 Nearly 300,000 people living in multi-faith households