The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, refused to clarify whether his asylum plans could cause the UK to abandon the European Convention on Human Rights. In an evasive response to SNP politician Joanna Cherry, Sunak told a liaison committee that he wouldn’t ‘speculate on future legislation’, adding that laws would be introduced next year which would allow the UK to remove people in the UK illegally to either their own country or a third country. ‘They should not have the ability to stay here,’ said the prime minister.