Press release

PM statement on Supreme Court judgement: 15 November 2023

The Prime Minister issued a statement following the Supreme Court’s judgement on the Rwanda plan.

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

We have seen today’s judgment and will now consider next steps. 

This was not the outcome we wanted, but we have spent the last few months planning for all eventualities and we remain completely committed to stopping the boats.   

Crucially, the Supreme Court – like the Court of Appeal and the High Court before it – has confirmed that the principle of sending illegal migrants to a safe third country for processing is lawful. This confirms the Government’s clear view from the outset.

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.

Because when people know that if they come here illegally, they won’t get to stay then they will stop coming altogether, and we will stop the boats.

Updates to this page

Published 15 November 2023