CALLS for the UK Government to “ignore the laws” and deport people to Rwanda – despite the Supreme Court ruling it would be unlawful – are “basically aligned” to what the public wants, the Prime Minister’s press secretary has said.

It comes after Lee Anderson, the deputy chair of the Conservatives appointed by Rishi Sunak, called for the Tories to flout the decision of the UK’s highest court and “just put the planes in the air now”.

In a unanimous ruling on Wednesday, the Supreme Court said that deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda would be unlawful under both domestic and international law.

Lord Robert Reed, the Supreme Court president, said the African nation had not demonstrated that it would process claims fairly and not deport genuine refugees to places where they would be persecuted.

READ MORE: James Cleverly: We will deliver Rwanda plan despite Supreme Court judgment

After the decision, hard-right Tories demanded Sunak “immediately” overrules existing British laws and international agreements which resulted in the Rwanda plan being blocked.

And Anderson, in a statement which the Prime Minister has since looked to back, said the UK should just “ignore the laws”.

He described the Supreme Court judgment as a “dark day for the British people” and said ministers should “just put the planes in the air now and send them to Rwanda”.

“I think the British people have been very patient, I’ve been very patient, and now they’re demanding action. And this has sort of forced our hand a little bit now,” he said.

“My take is we should just put the planes in the air now and send them to Rwanda and show strength. It’s time for the Government to show real leadership and send them back, same day.”

The National: Lee Anderson sparked fury with his anti-migrant comments this week

Anderson (above) added: “I think we should ignore the laws and send them straight back the same day.”

The comments raised eyebrows among the SNP.

MP Steven Bonnar noted: “This is what the deputy leader [chair] of the governing party of the United Kingdom’s Parliament thinks about a decision handed down by the very same court that ruled Scotland’s democratically elected parliament cannot hold a referendum.

“Makes ye think.”

And his colleague, MP Stewart McDonald wrote: “I get the impression that the deputy chair of the UK’s governing party hasn’t really thought through what ignoring a Supreme Court ruling might mean for others…”

Others suggested that calling for the government to “ignore the laws” should be a sackable offence, but Sunak’s press secretary appeared to defend Anderson.

Read his quotes, they said: "I think we understand that our MPs have strong views and they are basically aligned to what the public want."

James Cleverly, the new Home Secretary, has said the UK Government has a "plan" to upgrade the deal with Rwanda to a treaty, giving the court the assurances it needs to allow the deportations to begin.