Sunak: Nothing will stand in our way of getting Rwanda flights off the ground

The prime minister has said that “nothing will stand in our way” of getting flights off the ground after the government’s deportation plan in Rwanda was passed by parliament.

The House of Lords was locked in a protracted battle over Rwanda’s Security (Asylum and Immigration) Bill on Monday, sending it back to the House of Commons five times in a bid to secure changes.

The unelected chamber ended the deadlock after MPs rejected a demand that Rwanda could not be treated as safe until the foreign minister, after consultation with an independent monitoring body, made a statement to parliament to that effect .

The government said the Lords amendment was “almost identical” to previous ones quashed by MPs.

In a statement on Tuesday, Rishi Sunak said: “The passing of this groundbreaking legislation is not just a step forward, but a fundamental change in the global migration equation.

“We introduced the Rwanda Bill to stop vulnerable migrants from making dangerous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs that exploit them.

“Passing this legislation will allow us to do that and make it very clear that if you come here illegally, you cannot stay.

“Our focus now is on getting flights off the ground, and I am confident that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives.”

In a video on social media, Home Secretary James Cleverly said the bill “will become law within days.”

He said: “The law 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 the government the power to reject interim lockdown measures imposed by European courts.

“I promised to do whatever was necessary to clear the path for the first flight.

“That’s what we did.

“Now we are working day in, day out to get flights off the ground.”

Earlier in the House of Lords, the opposition did not press its demand to include an exemption from deportation in the bill for Afghan nationals who have assisted British forces, after what critics have hailed as a concession.

An interior minister said the government will not send those eligible under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) to Rwanda.

The new law aims to pave the way for asylum seekers to cross the Channel in small boats on a one-way flight to Kigali.

The legislation and a treaty with Rwanda are intended to prevent further legal challenges to the stalled plan after the Supreme Court ruled it illegal.

It would not only force judges to consider the East African country safe, but it would also give ministers the power to ignore emergency orders.

The Prime Minister says the policy will deter migrants attempting to make the dangerous journey across the world’s busiest shipping route.

In a statement, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the bill “an excessively expensive gimmick rather than a serious plan to tackle dangerous boat crossings”.

“The Rwanda program will cost more than half a billion pounds for just 300 people, less than one per cent of asylum seekers here in Britain – and there is no plan for the 99%,” she said.

“Instead of spending £2 million per asylum seeker on this failed plan, they should put that money into improving our border security, that is Labour’s practical plan.

“This is the third new bill the Tories have passed on the Channel Crossing in two years. Each law has made the chaos worse and even senior Tory MPs do not believe this third law will work.

“As former immigration secretary Robert Jenrick has said, this is just a plan to make a few token flights before the election.

“Now that the new law has been passed, the Conservatives will immediately sign another £50 million check to Rwanda on top of the £200 million sent so far, even though not a single asylum seeker has been sent.

“The Conservatives should drop this eye-wateringly expensive election stunt and instead adopt Labour’s practical plan to strengthen our border security with new cross-border policing and new counter-terror powers to crack down on criminal gangs, and a new Return and Enforcement Unit to tackle criminal gangs. remove those who have no right to be here.”

Earlier on Monday, Rishi Sunak blamed Labor colleagues for holding up the bill as he acknowledged he would miss his self-imposed spring target of getting the Rwanda plan off the ground.

With its parliamentary approval completed, the bill will now be approved by the Royal Family.