UK Refugee - “I am prepared to change laws if that is what it takes to continue with the Rwanda refuge plan”

Lord Reed said changes to eliminate that risk "may be delivered in the future", and he underlined that the Supreme Court's decision was a "legal question" based on international law - including the European Convention on Human Rights and various UN treaties - with the court "not concerned with the political debate" about the scheme.

While charities celebrated the decision as "a victory for humanity", Rishi Sunak said the judgment was "not the outcome we wanted".

After the ruling, Mr Sunak pointed to what he saw as the positives - namely that the court "confirmed that the principle of sending illegal migrants to a safe third country for processing is lawful".

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, he sought to reassure his own MPs that he remained committed to the Rwanda plan, telling them: "The government has already been working in advance on a new treaty with Rwanda which we will finalise in light of today's judgment to address the challenges that were raised.

"But let me say this again, if it becomes clear that our domestic legal frameworks or international conventions are still frustrating plans at that point, I am prepared to change laws and revisit those international relationships.

"The British people expect us to do whatever it takes to stop the boats and that is precisely what this government will deliver.

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer pointed to the prime minister's pledge in January that he would "stop the boats" by the end of the year, adding: "He has wasted all of his time on a gimmick and now he is absolutely nowhere.

"[He needs to] level with the British public and finally admit he's failed to deliver on his promise."

The ruling is now likely to reignite a row in the Conservatives over the UK's future as a signatory of international human rights agreements - something the now ex-home secretary Suella Braverman has railed against.

MPs on the right of the party have been calling on the UK to exit or attempt to work around the European Human Rights Convention (EHRC), arguing the final say on government policy should be made in the British parliament rather than abroad.

One faction, called the New Conservatives, have been meeting this morning to discuss their next steps, and the party's deputy chairman, Lee Anderson, said ministers should "ignore the law" and start sending asylum seekers to Rwanda anyway.

In her blistering letter to Mr Sunak after she was sacked earlier this week, Ms Braverman pre-emptively pinned the blame on the prime minister for the immigration policy she was charged with implementing falling in the courts, accusing him of not having a "plan B" to push forward.

However, many in the party believe it is right to remain part of the agreements that protect human rights, standing alongside international allies.

Meanwhile, refugee charities celebrated the ruling, with the CEO of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, calling it "a victory for the rights of men, women and children who simply want to be safe".