Prime minister Rishi Sunak said flights to Rwanda have been booked and will take off by July, “no ifs, no buts” at a Downing Street news conference ahead of the Rwanda bill returning to parliament later today.
Mr Sunak told the surprise conference the first flight carrying asylum seekers would leave for Rwanda in 10-12 weeks, despite the problems he has faced passing it into law.
Peers have repeatedly blocked the legislation with a series of amendments, stretching debate on the “emergency legislation” over more than four months and delaying flights taking asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The bill is intended to overcome the objections of the Supreme Court by forcing judges to treat Rwanda as a safe country for asylum seekers and allowing ministers to ignore emergency injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights.
MPs are expected to vote to overturn those changes before sending the bill back to the House of Lords, where some peers may attempt to insist on their amendments again.
Tory MP Sir Robert Buckland, a former government minister, explained why he was backing the Afghan amendment to the Rwanda bill, Holly Bancroft reports.
Referring to members of the Afghan special forces, who fought alongside UK soldiers and who are currently having their UK relocation applications reviewed, he said: “We don’t want to end up with people, who are having their applications reviewed by the MoD, who are stuck in Pakistan, we don’t want them to end up in a position where they’re being carted off in this scheme,” he said.
“It wasn’t designed for this sort of category [of people]. Despite all the progress we’ve made on bringing Afghans to safety in the UK, we don’t want to end up with unintended consequences where people who’ve risked their lives for our safety are then put into this scheme.”
Sir Robert is also backing the other Lords’ amendment, which would make sure the monitoring committee verifies Rwanda as safe before asylum seekers are sent there. It was also make sure that the committee can tell MPs when Rwanda is no longer a safe country.
Sir Robert said neither were “wrecking amendments” but were rather about getting the detail of the bill right.
Once the Rwanda bill is passed, Sir Robert told The Independent that there will “inevitably be individual legal challenges”. However he felt that the likelihood of an intervention from the ECHR “has probably receded” due to new guidelines issued to the Strasbourg judges, which have raised the threshold for issuing injunctions.
Emily Maitlis to lead Channel 4’s general election coverage
Emily Maitlis will lead Channel 4’s coverage of the general election, the broadcaster has announced.
The News Agents journalist, formerly of the BBC, said she was “delighted” to “work with such an incredible cast of people. I cannot wait.”
She will present the election special alongside Channel 4 News presenters Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Cathy Newman and others.
Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart, who present the Rest Is Politics podcast, will also appear throughout the night.
UN experts warn airlines over Sunak’s Rwanda scheme
United Nations experts have warned airlines involved in Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda asylum scheme they could be held responsible for any violations of international human rights rules.
Siobhan Mullally, Gehad Madi and Alice Jill Edwards, the special rapporteurs on human trafficking, migrants’ human rights and torture, warned airlines and regulators could be “complicit” in breaching the rules by facilitating removals to Rwanda.
The prime minister used a Downing Street press conference earlier to say that the government had booked commercial charter plans and had an airfield on standby for the first Rwanda flight, which would take place in 10-12 weeks.
But the UN experts said: “Even if the UK-Rwanda agreement and the Safety of Rwanda Bill are approved, airlines and aviation regulators could be complicit in violating internationally protected human rights and court orders by facilitating removals to Rwanda.”
Parliamentary researcher among two men charged with spying for China under Official Secrets act
A parliamentary researcher is among two British men who have been charged with spying for China after an investigation by counter-terrorism police.
Christopher Cash, 29, from Whitechapel in east London, a former researcher for Conservative Alicia Kearns, has been accused of an offence under the Official Secrets Act, the Metropolitan Police said.
Full report:
Watch: Sunak pledges support to Mark Rowley after ‘openly jewish’ Met Police comment
Watch: Sunak confirms Rwanda flights will take off in 10 to 12 weeks
Watch: Sunak confirms Rwanda flights will take off in 10 to 12 weeks
The first flight carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda will leave in 10 to 12 weeks, Rishi Sunak has today said (22 April). The prime minister said “enough is enough” as he said MPs and peers would sit through the night if necessary to get the Safety of Rwanda Bill through Parliament. At a Downing Street press conference he blamed Labour opposition to the scheme for the delays, but vowed: “We will start the flights and we will stop the boats.” The prime minister said an airfield was on standby and charter flights had been booked to take asylum seekers on the one-way trip to Rwanda. Mr Sunak said: “No ifs, no buts. These flights are going to Rwanda.”
Listen: Kigali is safer than London, claims Andrew Mitchell
Rwanda capital Kigali is safer than London, deputy foreign minister claims
The capital of Rwanda, Kigali, is safer than London, deputy foreign minister Andrew Mitchell has claimed. Mr Mitchell made his comments as he urged peers to back down over the government’s deportation bill on Monday (22 April). Mr Mitchell said amendments to the Rwanda bill were not necessary and further “ping pong” between the Lords and the Commons was “not the right way to proceed”. In his interview on Radio 4 Today’s programme, he said: “It is absolutely extraordinary what the Rwandan government has achieved in all walks of life. It is a safe country. And indeed, if you look at the statistics, Kigali is arguably safer than London.”
Former Tory minister has sleeping bag ready for Rwanda votes
A Conservative former minister has said he has a sleeping bag ready for the possibility parliament could sit through the night to pass the Rwanda bill
Asked if he was prepared for an all-night sitting, Tim Loughton told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “Absolutely, I have got the sleeping bag ready.”
The East Worthing and Shoreham MP also told the programme: “I am frustrated, I have no problem with sitting through the night to get this legislation through.
“There is a hard core led by Labour in the House of Lords who are trying to frustrate this whole legislation without any credible alternative that would deal with those people coming here without any credible asylum claim who cannot be returned to their home country.
“It is incumbent on them to say what they would do and they haven’t, so let the legislation through and let’s see how it works.”
Tens of thousands will remain ‘stranded’ in UK at ‘considerable cost’
Tens of thousands of people will remain “stranded” in the UK at a “considerable cost” to the government even if Rwanda flights take off in July, campaigners have said.
Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said: “Government statistics released today show that the government’s decision to stop processing the majority of asylum claims since last July has already left nearly 52,000 individuals stranded in the UK indefinitely, shut out from the asylum system, unable to work, unable to be returned to their own country, and in need of indefinite support.
“Even if, as the prime minister asserts, there is to be ‘a regular rhythm of multiple flights every month’, this will still only correspond to at most a few thousand people a year, out of tens of thousands.
“Instead of giving these people a fair hearing on UK soil to determine if they have a protection need, the government will have to look after them indefinitely, at considerable cost.”
Sunak could’ve passed bill sooner but wanted someone to blame – Labour
Rishi Sunak could have passed the Rwanda plan through parliament much sooner, but “always looks for someone else to blame”, Labour said.
Asked if Labour was blocking the bill, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper told broadcasters: “The government has an overall majority in parliament and could have passed this bill a month ago if they had scheduled it then, but as we know Rishi Sunak always looks for someone else to blame.
“This is costing the taxpayer half-a-billion pounds for a scheme that will only cover 1 per cent of asylum seekers.
“This is an extortionate scheme. They should be putting that money into boosting our border security instead. That is what Labour would do.”
Asked if Labour would scrap the scheme even if it was working, she added: “This is an extortionate scheme that has failed just like the previous two laws that the Conservatives have passed on this, and it is why neither the current home secretary nor the former home secretary think this is going to work.
“That is why Labour is calling for this money to be put into boosting our border security with a new cross-border police and new counter-terror-style powers to go after the criminal gangs instead.”
