Civil service union starts legal action against government over Rwanda deportation plan [Video]

The civil service union has started legal action against the government over its plan to detain asylum seekers and fly them to Rwanda.

The FDA union will try and take ministers to court over the legislation, which was passed by parliament last week after weeks of back and forth between MPs and the Lords. The union is worried about what would happen if civil servants were told by ministers to break international law when carrying out the deportations.

Under the Civil Service code, government employees have a duty to abide by the law and union bosses think the government has created a conflict of interest if civil servants are ordered to disregard a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

The ECHR could be forced to intervene in Rwanda deportations if an asylum seeker takes their case to the Strasbourg court. Judges can make a Rule 39 order in …