Last night, the Parliament of the United Kingdom completed the passage of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill. I do not think that it will deliver the stopping of the boats, but the issue of primary concern to me is in respect of Northern Ireland. That question is this: will the Bill even apply in its full reach to this part of the United Kingdom? I raise that question because of the fact that, under the protocol, the European Charter of Fundamental Rights continues to apply to this part of the United Kingdom and this part alone.

We have already seen how the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 was struck down by our High Court because of incompatibility with the protocol. The logic and legal pathway that gave rise to that would equally apply to the provisions of the Rwanda Bill vis-à-vis Northern Ireland and the special arrangements that exist under the charter of fundamental human rights. Of course, the legacy Act case is under appeal, but, subject to that, it seems to me that, by virtue of the fact that article 18 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights has a special protection for asylum seekers, we are on course for the distinctly unacceptable possibility that the Rwanda Bill's ability to remove asylum seekers will not apply with the same force and effect to Northern Ireland, creating a further border, this time an asylum immigration border, and underscoring the iniquity of the Union-dismantling nature of the protocol.

It is something that one will watch with great interest, noting that the Rwanda Bill purports to disapply portions of the European Convention on Human Rights but does not disapply any portions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which, of course, applies here. Hence my conclusion that we are likely to see great disparity in the approach and great detriment to our supposed position as an integral part of the United Kingdom.