- Labour aims to amend Rwanda deportation bill in Lords again
- Government seeks to start deportation flights by June, faces delays
- Proposed law could significantly impact UK’s asylum and immigration system
A further postponement may befall the government’s deportation measure from Rwanda, as Labour has pledged to attempt to amend it once more in the House of Lords.
Legislators rejected ten amendments to the draft law the House of Lords put forth earlier this month on Monday.
On Wednesday, however, Labour peers will attempt to reintroduce five or six proposed amendments when the measure returns to the House of Lords.
It means that the measure may not be signed into law until the Easter break of Parliament.
This may challenge Downing Street’s goal of commencing flights to the East African nation before June.
The proposed legislation seeks to enable the United Kingdom to deport asylum applicants to Rwanda because it is a secure location, following the Supreme Court’s ruling last year that such a policy could result in violations of human rights.
Peers amended the measure earlier this month to facilitate judicial challenges and ensure that the treaty governing deportations is “completely implemented” before the departure of flights.
On Monday evening, these were defeated by a series of votes with government majorities spanning from 57 to 78.
As the measure is batted between the two chambers of Parliament, it will return to the Lords on Wednesday through a process known as “ping pong,” during which peers and Members of Parliament will attempt to reach an agreement on the final wording.
Labour has indicated that its counterparts will only partially attempt to obstruct the bill’s passage into law.
Nonetheless, the party will mandate that they attempt to reintroduce amendments to halt flights until the United Kingdom receives additional assurances that Rwanda is a secure nation.
The bill could become law by the end of this week if their efforts fail. However, If they are successful, the measure would need to be returned to the House of Commons.
According to a spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Wednesday’s votes should “collaborate with the government” to “put an end to the business of people smuggling.
Frustration and postponement
A further vote would likely be postponed until Members of Parliament return from Easter on April 15. This could cause several-week flight delays if the government does not amend the Commons timetable to permit voting the following week.
According to Labour, the expense of each deportation is equivalent to the cost of sending six individuals into space.
On Monday, Home Office minister Michael Tomlinson stated in the House of Commons that the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill constituted “a critical component” in safeguarding the borders of the United Kingdom.
He stated that the measure did not contradict the government’s international obligations.
In addition, “systematic legal challenges” continued to “frustrate and delay” removals, according to Mr. Tomlinson.
The Reuters At MOD Boscombe Down in June 2022, personnel embarked on an aircraft that emerged as the initial vessel to transport migrants to Rwanda, as reported by British media. During Monday’s voting session, Stephen Kinnock of the Labour Party endorsed every Lords amendment to the measure, stating that peers were performing a “patriotic duty” by examining the proposed laws.
The shadow home office minister asserted that the Conservative MPs were advancing “absurd legislation” that was “frankly disgraceful to our institutions” and demanded that the government accord it “proper regard.”
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A Labour backbencher, Neil Coyle, inquired whether Mr Tomlinson knew of the National Audit Office’s findings that the first 300 asylum claimants dispatched to Rwanda could cost taxpayers approximately £2 million.
Does the minister recognise that Virgin Galactic can transport six individuals into space for a fraction of the cost that this government is willing to allocate for the flight of a single individual to Rwanda? He stated as much.
“Is it not time to rethink this absurd policy and extortionate cost?”
Last summer, a six-person Virgin Galactic flight to the verge of space cost £2.14 million.
Richard Graham, a Conservative backbencher, responded that those who criticise the cost “completely miss the point” and that it would serve as a “huge disincentive” for illegitimate individuals seeking to access the United Kingdom.
However, one of the few Conservative rebels to support some of the Lords’ amendments was former justice secretary Robert Buckland, who expressed concern that whether Rwanda remained a secure destination would “generate legal friction.”
Sir Robert was also eager to emphasise his support for an amendment that would exempt individuals from deportation to Rwanda who had assisted the United Kingdom’s armed forces, including Afghan translators.
He stated, “I would expect the government to be extremely sensible and considerate regarding the plight of Afghan refugees and future refugees and to exclude them from this scheme; adding this particular insertion seems to me to have no negative consequences.”
