Rwanda bill: controversial deportation plan to become law as peers end stand-off with government

Rishi Sunak’s highly controversial Rwanda bill will become law after Peers in the House of Lords dropped their opposition to the plan.

The bill will now become law, with Sunak confirming yesterday that the first flights carrying asylum seekers to the African country will take off by July. A bitter battle ensued over the past few months, with the House of Lords holding out over assurances that Rwanda is a safe country.

Lord Anderson of Ipswich, who has been a prominent critic of the legislation, said: “The purpose of ping-pong is to persuade the Government through force of argument to come to the table and agree a compromise. They have refused pointedly to do so.” Lord Carlile backed Lord Anderson’s argument, saying: "This is something which is ill judged, badly drafted, inappropriate, illegal in current UK and international law, and the House of Lords is absolutely right to say that we want to maintain our legal standards in this country, and there are better ways of dealing with this problem anyway." Another amendment that peers were pushing for was an exemption for Afghan veterans who has assisted in British troops. After going back and forth five times throughout the evening, the battle came to an end when the House of Lords backed down and decided not to push the opposition any further after the government said that the ‘safe country’ amendment was “almost identical” to the one previously overturned by MPs.

A Home Office minister also said that the government would not send those who are eligible under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) to Rwanda. Now the bill, having completed its parliamentary passage, will go on to royal assent before becoming law, however it may still be held up by challenges in the courts.

The Prime Minister celebrated his political win and hailed the passing of the Rwanda bill as “not just a step forward but a fundamental change in the global equation on migration”. He said: “We introduced the Rwanda Bill to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit them.

“The passing of this legislation will allow us to do that and make it very clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay. Our focus is to now get flights off the ground, and I am clear that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives.”

In a video posted shortly after the bill passed through the Upper House, Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “The Safety of Rwanda Bill has passed in Parliament and it will become law within days. The Act will prevent people from abusing the law by using false human rights claims to block removals. And it makes clear that the UK Parliament is sovereign, giving Government the power to reject interim blocking measures imposed by European courts.

“I promised to do what was necessary to clear the path for the first flight. That’s what we have done. Now we’re working day in and day out to get flights off the ground.”