Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill FINALLY gets through Parliament after months of holdups with planes set to takeoff in weeks
EMERGENCY legislation to get flights off to Rwanda finally passed through Parliament last night – after MPs defeated Lords efforts to ground the planes.
Small boat migrants destined for the Central African state under the controversial scheme could be detained as soon as this week ahead of the first flights in July.
After “ping pong” between the Commons and Lords, the bill is finally on the way to the King for Royal Assent on Tuesday morning.
The PM had warned the Commons would sit as long as it takes to overturn peers’ efforts to water down the bill – with planes and airfields booked for 10 to 12 weeks time.
Mr Sunak earlier warned peers that the Commons would vote through the night if need be to pass his emergency Rwanda bill, insisting planes and airfields are already booked.
But he was forced to admit his last deadline of flights off by “the spring” would be missed amid the wrangling with the Lords.
He told a press conference on Monday morning: “For almost two years our opponents have used every trick in the book to block flights and keep the boats coming.
“Enough is enough. No more prevarication, no more delay. Parliament will sit there tonight and vote no matter how late it goes.
“No ifs, no buts. These flights are going to Rwanda.”
Speaking from No10, the PM:
- CONFIRMED commercial planes had been secured to take migrants to Kigali rather than the RAF
- DECLARED a “regular” stream of flights throughout the summer
- REVEALED 500 dedicated officials have been hired to help deport small boat migrants
- VOWED to ignore Euro judges if that is what it takes to stop the boats
The House of Lords had attempted to block the legislation by repeatedly amending the Bill, costing the Government three weeks of delay.
But the PM ordered Parliament to sit late into the night to pass the legislation.
Mr Sunak said his patience with those blocking the Bill had “run thin”.
Ministers have faced questions about how quickly flights could take off after the Safety of Rwanda Bill was passed.
Assuring the groundwork has been done, he said Government teams “are working flat out to deliver this genuine game changer”.
What is the Rwanda plan?
What is the Rwanda plan?
Under the plan, anyone who arrives in Britain illegally will be deported to Rwanda, a country in eastern Africa.
The government believes the threat of being removed to Rwanda will deter migrants from making the dangerous Channel crossing in small boats.
Once in Rwanda, their asylum claims will be processed but there is no route back to the UK, save for some exceptional circumstances such as individual safety concerns. Britain will pay for migrants to start a new life in Rwanda.
That includes increasing detention capacity to 2,200 spaces, training 200 caseworkers, identifying 150 judges and freeing up 25 courtrooms.
He added: “And to do that, I can confirm that we’ve put an airfield on standby, booked commercial charter planes for specific slots and we have 500 highly trained individuals ready to escort illegal migrants all the way to Rwanda, with 300 more trained in the coming weeks.”
The Bill overcomes the objections of the Supreme Court by forcing judges to deem Rwanda as a safe country for asylum seekers.
It allows ministers to ignore last-minute wrecking injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights.
The “parliamentary ping pong” – the process whereby the Bill is batted between the Commons and the Lords – will continue until they can agree the final wording.