One human rights barrister told POLITICO if he did not consult Prentis, this in itself “would be a significant break from an established constitutional norm.”

Refusing to comply would be unlawful

A person privy to internal government discussions on the matter, who like the barrister was granted anonymity to enable them to speak frankly, said “it remains unclear” how the government would proceed since “the official legal advice and position of the attorney general at the time the bill was drawn up was that to do so would be a clear breach of international law.”

The ECHR’s president, Siofra O’Leary, has also stated that refusing to comply would be unlawful.

However, the official in his department quoted earlier insisted Tomlinson was “perfectly comfortable” to be in this position — and was prepared to pull the trigger on rejecting decisions sent down from Strasbourg.

On first glance, the immigration minister, son of a private school headmaster, makes an unlikely strongman, having flown under the radar for most of his time in office and struggling in some of his recent forays into broadcast media.

However, while he might not be a household name, he previously served as solicitor general and even has some direct experience of working in Rwanda as part of a Conservative Party volunteering project.