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Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailThe average council tax bill across England is more than £2,000 a year – and it’s only set to get more costly come April.For many, council tax is likely to increase by the maximum amount possible as local authorities across the country hope to boost their finances.By increasing council tax by 4.99 per cent, the levelling-up department is hoping to raise £2bn from taxpayers despite Rishi Sunak’s suggestion of pre-election giveaways.Most of us have to pay council tax, whether you are a homeowner or renter. The money is used to fund a range of services, including street lamps, libraries and waste collection.A portion also goes towards local police and fire and rescue services.What you pay is determined by what your property would have sold for in 1991 in England and 2003 in Wales, as well as your personal circumstances. With another rise imminent, we want to know whether you think council tax provides value for money.Do you think the right services are getting the money where you are? Are there enough concessions on council tax during a cost of living crisis? And would you be happy to pay more to make your area a better place to live?If you want to share your opinion then add it in the comments and we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.All you have to do is sign up and register your details – then you can then take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Join the conversation with other Independent readers below. More

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailThe government is facing questions over the effectiveness of Britain’s nuclear deterrent after a test launch of the UK’s Trident nuclear missile failed, crashing back into the ocean close to the submarine that fired it.The unarmed Trident II missile was launched from the nuclear-powered HMS Vanguard as part of final tests following a £500m overhaul, before the vessel returns to patrol service.“It left the submarine but it just went plop, right next to them,” a source said.The launch was carried out off the east coast of Florida on 30 January but has only just been revealed.Shapps said the government retained ‘absolute confidence’ in the UK’s nuclear deterrentThe failure, at a time of heightened international tensions and when the readiness of Britain’s navy is under scrutiny, is embarrassing for ministers. Another Trident missile veered off course during a test launch in 2016.Defence secretary Grant Shapps was on board the 150-metre submarine at the time of the most recent failure, and first sea lord Admiral Sir Ben Key was also reportedly there.The Labour Party has sought assurances from Rishi Sunak in the wake of the incident, calling the missile test failure “concerning”.But Mr Shapps said the government retained “absolute confidence” in the UK’s nuclear deterrent.The “anomaly” had no implications for the UK’s ability to deploy nuclear weapons, he insisted.It comes just 10 days after the departure of the UK’s flagship aircraft carrier for a major Nato exercise was postponed after an unspecified “issue” was found in final checks.Last month, Mr Shapps said the UK was in a “pre-war” phase.However, former Trades Union Congress (TUC) chief Frances O’Grady said the vision of Mr Shapps on board seemed like “a terrible metaphor for what is happening in the country”.“We know about the squeeze on budgets; we have 25,000 fewer troops than in 2010; we know how important the defence sector is for jobs, but lots of procurement failures too,” she told the BBC’s Politics Live.“It feels like this is a time, especially in a world that feels really unsafe, where we need a proper strategic review and a look at what are the real threats we face and the best way to meet them.”The Trident missile had been due to land thousands of miles away, in the Atlantic Ocean between Brazil and west Africa.It was successfully propelled into the air by compressed gas in the launch pipe, but the first-stage boosters did not ignite and the missile crashed back into the water.Former Royal Navy warfare officer Chris Parry said the missile had operated correctly – the procedural error meant a command abort had to happen for safety reasons.Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, a defence and security think tank, said the Vanguard fleet was operating beyond its expected service life.“They’re working on the basis that the Vanguard submarines are going to be at least a decade beyond their original service lives,” he said. “And that creates stresses and strains on the system.”HMS Vengeance, another Royal Navy Vanguard class Trident ballistic missile submarineShadow defence secretary John Healey said: “Reports of a Trident test failure are concerning. The defence secretary will want to reassure parliament that this test has no impact on the effectiveness of the UK’s deterrent operations.“Labour’s support for the UK’s nuclear deterrent is total. We recognise the special service of those who’ve maintained our continuous at-sea deterrence for over 50 years.”Mr Shapps said the test had been the culmination of a “demonstration and shakedown operation” to gauge the performance of Vanguard’s weapons and crew after the refit.He said the operation reaffirmed the effectiveness of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, and that the submarine and crew were “successfully certified” ready for operation, but that an anomaly had occurred that was “event-specific”.“There are no implications for the reliability of the wider Trident missile systems and stockpiles,” he said.“Nor are there any implications for our ability to fire our nuclear weapons, should the circumstances arise in which we need to do so.”The prime minister’s official spokesperson said the government had “complete confidence” in Britain’s nuclear deterrent.He repeated the Ministry of Defence’s explanation that there had been an “anomaly”, but said that, for national security reasons, he was unable to expand on what that meant.“There was this specific anomaly, but we are confident that the anomaly was specific to the test and that there are no wider implications,” he said.Britain’s nuclear deterrent is provided by four nuclear-powered submarines equipped with the American-built Trident ballistic missile system, manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The warheads are built in Britain.Britain and the US say there have been more than 190 successful tests of Trident, which can be fired at targets up to 4,000 miles away and can travel at more than 13,000 miles an hour according to the Royal Navy.In the 1980s, the UK spent £12.52bn on acquiring Trident – the equivalent of £21bn in 2022-23 prices, according to figures from the House of Commons Library.It costs around £3bn a year to operate.The Ministry of Defence said it is spending more than £50bn a year in cash terms on the armed forces, “supporting global deployments and continuing to invest in new tanks, fighter jets and warships”. More

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsInflation unexpectedly held steady last month as food prices fell for the first time in almost two-and-a-half years, official figures show.Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation remained unchanged at 4% in January, lower than the 4.2% that economists had forecast although still double the Bank of England’s 2% target, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.The monthly drop in food prices, of 0.4%, was the first since September 2021, with the cost of bread and cereals, cream crackers and chocolate biscuits falling, the ONS said.While food and non-alcoholic beverage prices are still 7% higher than a year ago, the category saw the slowest rate of increase since April 2022.On a monthly basis, food and non-alcoholic beverage prices fell by 0.4% between December and January.Most of this drop was down to a 1.3% decrease in bread and cereal prices – the largest in that category since May 2021.The ONS said seven out of 11 types of food and non-alcoholic beverages it tracks put downward pressure on the inflation figure last month.The monthly drop in food prices, of 0.4%, was the first since September 2021Despite the most recent fall, food and non-alcoholic beverages are around 25% more expensive than they were in January 2022. In the entire decade before that, prices only rose around 10%.ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said: “Inflation was unchanged in January, reflecting counteracting effects within the basket of goods and services.“The price of gas and electricity rose at a higher rate than this time last year due to the increase in the energy price cap, while the cost of second-hand cars went up for the first time since May.“Offsetting these, prices of furniture and household goods decreased by more than a year ago and food prices fell on the month for the first time in over two years.“All of these factors combined resulted in no change to the headline rate this month.”Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “Inflation never falls in a perfect straight line, but the plan is working. We have made huge progress in bringing inflation down from 11%, and the Bank of England forecast that it will fall to around 2% in a matter of months.”Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “After 14 years of economic failure, working people are worse off. Prices are still rising in the shops, with the average household’s costs up £110 a week compared to before the last election.“Inflation is still higher than the Bank of England’s target and millions of families are struggling with the cost of living.“The Conservatives cannot fix the economy because they are the reason it is broken. It’s time for change. Only Labour has a long-term plan to get Britain’s future back by delivering more jobs, more investment and cheaper bills.” More

Inflation could rise in second half of 2024, Andrew Bailey says as interest rates held at 5.25%Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailEconomists are bracing for rises in the cost of living to have accelerated for a second month, as the Office for National Statistics publishes new data on inflation.While inflation has fallen from a 41-year high of 11.1 per cent in October 2022 to below prime minister Rishi Sunak’s stated goal of 5 per cent by the end of 2023, it remains above the Bank of England’s longstanding target of 2 per cent.While chancellor Jeremy Hunt celebrated a surprise fall to 3.9 per cent in November, the rate of inflation rose again in December to 4 per cent – and is now expected to have done so again last month.The fresh figures, due on Wednesday morning, are expected to show that Consumer Prices Index inflation – a measure of the costs that households face – hit 4.2 per cent in January.Economists will be watching keenly for signs on what impact the figures could have on the Bank of England’s base interest rate, which is causing pain for borrowers and homeowners struggling with higher mortgage rates.Show latest update 1707878340FTSE 100 drops as interest rate concerns weigh on housebuildersLondon’s markets slid in a gloomy afternoon session amid concerns over persistent inflation, reports Henry Saker-Clark.The FTSE 100 had a cautious morning of trading but quickly dropped to its lowest point this month after hotter-than-expected US Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figures.The data suggested hopes of interest rate reductions soon could be premature and particularly dented housebuilders amid concerns about the mortgage market.London’s top index moved 0.81 per cent, or 61.41 points, lower to finish at 7,512.28, with Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments and Persimmon all notable fallers.Andy Gregory14 February 2024 02:391707874380What has been happening to wages?Wage growth has slowed to its lowest level for more than a year but is still outpacing inflation, according to official figures.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said average regular pay growth, excluding bonuses, fell to 6.2% in the quarter to December, down from an upwardly revised 6.7 per cent in the three months to November.This was the slowest growth since the three months to October 2022.But when taking Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation into account, real regular wages rose by 1.9 per cent – a high since summer 2019, excluding the pandemic-skewed years.This is thanks to inflation having fallen back sharply after hitting an eye-watering 41-year high of 11.1 per cent seen in October 2022.But the fall in wage growth was less than expected by most experts and in financial markets, with investors reining in their bets on interest rate cuts this year after the data.Andy Gregory14 February 2024 01:331707870660Wage rise data could also impact inflation and interest ratesThe higher-than-expected wage rises in Tuesday’s Office for National Statistics figures will also spark worries of delayed cuts to the Bank of England’s base interest rate – given that wage rises can push up inflation.“Today’s wage rises contribute to tomorrow’s spending power, impacting demand and influencing inflation, so the Bank will be keenly monitoring average earnings growth in particular,” said Rob Morgan, chief investment analyst at Charles Stanley.“Resilient wages have been a driver of sticky consumer price inflation, and they are not falling back into line as fast as the BoE (Bank of England) would like as it looks to return inflation to the 2 per cent target.“What’s more, a further inflationary impulse could lie in wait in the form of an increase to the national minimum wage of almost 10 per cent from April, which stands to simultaneously increase costs for employers and bolster household spending power, potentially exerting further upward pressure on prices.”Andy Gregory14 February 2024 00:311707867386How will new inflation figures impact on the Bank of England’s base interest rate?Economists will be tracking the data to try to figure out what influence it might have on the Bank of England.The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is tasked with keeping inflation as close to 2 per cent as possible.One of the main ways it has to do this is by changing interest rates. By increasing rates it restricts the amount of money that mortgage holders have to spend, therefore reducing demand for goods and services. That can help take pressure off prices.So if inflation is higher than the 4.1 per cent the MPC expected in its last forecast, that could make rate setters more likely to delay cuts to the base rate.Andy Gregory13 February 2024 23:361707863966Why have mortgage rates gone up?Following a period of decline in borrowing costs, several major mortgage lenders have announced increases in rates in recent days, my colleague Alex Ross reports.Mortgage rates are closely tied to swap rates, which is effectively the rate the lenders pay a financial institution for funding, and that is affected by the Bank of England’s base interest rate and inflation.Tomorrow, experts believe inflation will go up marginally from the annual 4 per cent recorded last month.Ken James, director at Contractor Mortgage Services, told The Independent: “Lenders at the moment are pricing in potential inflation rises.“I think what they are doing is safeguarding. They are saying ‘we think that everything is going to rise with all these figures coming in and therefore let’s partly protect ourselves against that future rise and get it in early’.“I think with tomorrow, because I’m pretty confident rates are going to rise with inflation, I think lenders have just done it early, I think they are just protecting themselves.”Andy Gregory13 February 2024 22:391707860486What’s happening to your mortgage as major lender hikes rates ahead of inflation announcementIt’s been a turbulent few days for prospective and current homeowners looking for mortgages, with several major lenders announcing increases in rates after a period of decline in borrowing costs.Nationwide, the country’s biggest building society, revealed its mortgage rates would rise by up to 0.25 percentage points on Tuesday. It comes after lenders Halifax and TSB said they were also raising rates on some of their products.But, strangely, other lenders have gone in the other direction. Santander has announced mortgage rate cuts of 0.16 percentage points.The mixed picture for mortgage rates comes after the Bank of England held its base rate at 5.25 per cent earlier this month. However, it is Wednesday’s release of inflation figures which appear to have resulted in what some brokers are calling a “yo-yo” market.My colleague Alex Ross reports:Andy Gregory13 February 2024 21:411707857246Inflation still likely to have fallen in February, economist saysDespite an expected blip in Wedesday’s figures, inflation could fall as low as 3.4 per cent in February, an economist has said.Samuel Tombs, the chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics who believes that inflation hit 4.1 per cet in January, said that regardless of Wednesday’s data, inflation is likely to fall considerably, to 3.4 per cent, this month.Andy Gregory13 February 2024 20:471707853826How has the rate of inflation changed in recent years?This graphic by the PA news agency charts the rate of inflation as recorded in recent years by the Office for National Statistics: More

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailUS-funded anti-abortion activists have begun a campaign of harassment of high-profile Labour campaigner Stella Creasy, targeting her in a “persistent and sustained” pattern, accusing her of killing babies.Speaking to The Independent in an exclusive interview, Stella Creasy said she is facing “a bonfire of abuse” from anti-abortion ideologues on social media in punishment for campaigning on abortion rights.The Labour MP for Walthamstow said protesters have harassed nearby residents and leafletted her constituency with graphic imagery.It comes after anti-abortion activists staged a protest against pregnancy terminations in the town square in Walthamstow in east London at the end of January where they brandished graphic images of foetuses.Ms Creasy, an outspoken campaigner for abortion rights, said: “Some of the commentary is all about me being held to account by a god, and having my day in hell. The protesters “are connected to American protest groups. And we have seen what American protest groups do and the violence and intimidation they use there.”Ms Creasy said the anti-abortion activists targeting her area appear to have a lot of money as she warned they are ignoring electoral law. “Who do I hold to account for the fact that they have gone around Walthamstow telling local residents that I want to kill babies at birth?” Ms Creasy asked. We have a government that is cracking down on protest in all sorts of other areas but feels it is fine for women to be subjected to persistent and sustained harassment as part of a political debate. It’s not consistent. MP Stella CreasyIt comes after an advertising company was forced to remove a “disgusting” anti-abortion billboard campaign levelled at Ms Creasy back in 2019 when she was pregnant.Ms Creasy previously said the billboards, which were emblazoned with the words “Stop Stella” and featured an image of a foetus, had left her “physically sick” and constituted a form of “harassment”.The UK arm of an American-based anti-abortion organisation called the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform was behind the advertising campaign, which saw six posters spring up around Walthamstow directly targeting her.Ms Creasy said the current protests are being organised by a coalition of different anti-abortion groups which include the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, Abortion Resistance, and Christian Concern.Discussing the current wave of protests, she said: “I feel like they’ve got more money than they had in 2019. And that’s the thing that makes me wonder what else they might be capable of doing. “The stuff they did at the last election and the stuff they are doing now should not be part of a thriving democracy, because it is not a way of having a debate. If they want to participate in the democratic process, they need to be accountable, so they need to tell us who is funding them.”She said protesters are currently falsely linking her to killing babies as she explained residents reported that the activists sought to give an anti-abortion leaflet to a four-year-old.Ms Creasy added: “The irony to me is where we have a government that is cracking down on protest in all sorts of other areas but feels it is fine for women to be subjected to persistent and sustained harassment as part of a political debate. It’s not consistent.”Ms Creasy said the anti-abortion protests will not “deter” her from tabling amendments and proposing legislation about access to abortion. “Fundamentally I think it is a human right to choose,” she added.Current UK laws only allow abortions in restricted circumstances – with pregnancy terminations still deemed a criminal act in England, Scotland and Wales under the 1967 Abortion Act.Legislation passed in 1861 means any woman who ends a pregnancy without getting legal permission from two doctors, who must agree that continuing with it would be risky for the woman’s physical or mental health, can face up to life imprisonment. Any medical professional who delivers an abortion out of the terms of the act can face criminal punishment.Abortion providers, charities, medical bodies and MPs have spent years demanding abortion be decriminalised in the UK.Penelope Wiles, a local Walthamstow resident, told The Independent she thinks she overheard a protester spreading lies and disinformation about Ms Creasy during the recent protests.“I stopped to listen to what this woman was saying; she said ‘she thinks it is alright to just rip it out like it’s nothing, like it’s a piece of rubbish and chuck it in the bin’,” Ms Wiles added. “She was saying this to a group of two or three women. I cannot say ‘I heard her say Stella Creasy said that’ but I can assume that.”A Walthamstow council spokesperson said: “The council was made aware by the police of a planned protest in Walthamstow town square on the morning of Wednesday 24 January, the same day that the event took place. The MP’s office also made contact to alert us that morning and we shared the information we had with them before the protest started at 1pm.“We can only act within the law. The police, who are responsible for managing and monitoring protests, attended the event to ensure public safety. In a free society people have the right to lawfully express opinions that we may not agree with.” More

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailThe government must fix a £4bn hole in council funding or risk severe impact to services and more local authorities going bankrupt, MPs have warned. In the last six years, eight local authorities have issued a section 114 notice, which notifies ministers that councils can’t balance their budgets properly. None had done so in the preceding 18 years. Cross-party MPs on the levelling up, housing and communities committee have called on the government to “act now” to avert “the severe crisis and financial distress” faced by councils. They pointed to social care, children’s services and homelessness as growing areas that are adding millions to councils’ bills. As many as one in five councils in England are on the brink of effective bankruptcy, the Local Government Association has previously warned, with half of council leaders not confident they have enough money to fund legally required services – such as providing emergency housing for homeless people. In a report published on Thursday, parliamentarians wrote: “The levels of funding available to local authorities, through council tax, retained business rates, and government grants have not kept pace with these pressures, leading to a funding gap which is already estimated at £4bn over the next two years”.Children’s social care is a soaring cost that councils with depleting budgets are having to deal with Chair of the committee, MP Clive Betts, said the financial crisis facing English councils was “out of control”. He added: “Increasing demands on council services such as social care and special educational needs and disabilities (Send) provision has resulted in rocketing costs but the levels of funding available to councils has failed to keep track.”He said that without emergency funding from government “well-run councils could face the very real prospect of effectively going bust”.The report calls on the next government to overhaul how councils in England are funded and to consider land value taxes. It comes after more than 40 Tory backbenchers signed a letter to Rishi Sunak warning that without emergency cash, many councils will be forced to cut basic services and hike council tax in an election year.In December, the government proposed an increase of core council funding of 6.5 per cent in cash terms for the year 2024-5, compared to 2023-4. However, MPs warned that this increase came from the assumption that all local authorities would raise council tax by the maximum permitted amounts. MPs also said that the extra cash would not affect the £4bn funding hole.MPs pointed to the government’s decision to freeze local housing allowance rates at 2020 levels as a factor in driving homelessness rates. The report explained that the “effect of the freeze has been to constrain the available supply of housing by making increasing numbers of properties unaffordable to those receiving benefits”.Tory MPs wrote to Rishi Sunak to ask that he provides emergency funding to councils Councillors told the committee that funding basic services, such as children’s social care provisions, was becoming unsustainable. Leader of Bradford council, Susan Hinchcliffe, said: “Nearly 50 per cent of the council’s entire budget is now spent on children’s social care through [the children and families] trust, yet the trust is telling us this is not enough to cope with the current pressures.”She added: “It is grappling with high agency costs, high placement costs and dizzying levels of demand.” The trust, which is run independently of the council by the Department for Education but depends on council funding, is forecasting spending £242m this year. Bradford council only collects £233m in council tax annually, Ms Hinchcliffe explained. Councils have also seen an increase in special needs children needing transport from home to school, a service that local authorities have a statutory duty to provide. Gary Fielding, corporate resources director at Yorkshire Council, explained: “Five years ago, in North Yorkshire, we spent £5m a year on Send school transport; we now spend £21m.”Rising homelessness is also stripping councils of their funding. Lambeth councillor Clair Holland said that London boroughs were forecast to overspend more than £90m on temporary accommodation this year, with an estimated one in 50 Londoners being homeless. Cllr Peter Marland, of the Local Government Association, said the report showed there were “significant challenges” ahead this year. “Councils have led the way at finding ways to save money and reduce costs, but they will still need to raise council tax this year and many will need to make further savings to local services.”Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said that that youth services are being “torn away from children” and “the elderly are not getting the care they deserve” because this Conservative government has left a blackhole in council finances.He added: “Instead of ensuring that councils have the resources they need, Rishi Sunak has turned a blind eye to disappearing breakfast clubs, tennis courts, and bus routes.“The Conservatives have decimated council finances and it is local people up and down the country who are paying the price. Without proper funding for local services, it is communities and local people who will continue to suffer.”A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “We recognise councils are facing challenges and that is why we recently announced an additional £600m support package for councils across England, increasing their overall proposed funding for next year to £64.7bn – a 7.5 per cent increase in cash terms.“This additional funding has been welcomed by leading local government organisations, but we remain ready to talk to any concerned council about its financial position.” More

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailA ban on disposable vapes in the UK is looming – but will it actually stop children from taking up the habit?Rishi Sunak has announced plans for a ban on disposable vapes by the end of 2025. The government also says it will limit reusable vapes to just four flavours and end the use of colourful packaging marketing them to young people.New data shows the number of children vaping has tripled in the last three years with a significant proportion (nine per cent) of 11 to 15-year-olds using the devices, while the number of 11 to 17-year-old vapers increased almost ninefold in the last two years.Powers will be introduced to restrict flavours, enforce plainer packaging and change how vapes are displayed in shops, moving them out of children’s sight. Campaigning MPs have long commented on how flavours are named after sweets and displayed in bright colours.New fines will be brought in for shops selling vapes illegally to children allowing trading standards officers to act “on the spot”. Local authorities can already impose a maximum £2,500 fine and the new fines are expected to build on this. Vaping alternatives – such as nicotine pouches – will also be banned for children.We want to know your opinions on the disposable vape ban. Are the plans outlined by the government enough? Or is it too late for these changes to make a material impact? If you want to share your opinion then add it in the comments and we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.All you have to do is sign up and register your details – then you can then take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Join the conversation with other Independent readers below or by clicking here. More

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailMore than 250 charities, religious organisations and civil society bodies have called on the House of Lords to block the “deeply harmful” Rwanda bill, labelling it an attack on universal human rights and the constitutional role of the judiciary. In a joint statement ahead of the second reading of the bill in the Lords on Monday, the charities said that the government’s plans to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda would create a “two-tiered system” of human rights where some people had access to the UK courts and others didn’t, concluding: “Either we all have human rights or none of us do.” The group, which includes political organisations, faith groups, unions and councils, condemned the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill as “constitutionally extraordinary and deeply harmful”, saying it would “threaten the universality of human rights and is likely in breach of international law”. They also warned that the bill would breach the Good Friday agreement, which commits the UK government to “complete incorporation” of international human rights law in Northern Ireland. Three peers from the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Greens, also backed the statement saying the bill must be stopped. Rishi Sunak’s government agreed on a legally binding treaty with Rwanda in December, arguing that it addressed concerns raised by the Supreme Court about the possibility of asylum seekers deported to Rwanda being transferred back to a country where they could be at risk. Rishi Sunak has said he is prepared to ignore orders from the European Court of Human Rights Mr Sunak brought forward legislation to declare, contrary to the finding of the UK’s highest court, that Rwanda is in fact a safe country. The bill also severely limits asylum seekers’ ability to challenge their Rwanda deportation in the UK courts, making a showdown with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) more likely. Peers in the House of Lords delivered an initial blow to Mr Sunak’s plans when they backed, by 214 votes to 171, a motion to delay the treaty until the government can prove that Rwanda is indeed safe. In a hastily-arranged press conference this month, Mr Sunak warned peers not to “frustrate the will of the people” by opposing his flagship legislation.In the joint civil society statement, shared exclusively with The Independent, charities called on the Lords “to reject the bill at second reading” on Monday – pointing out: “It was not a government manifesto commitment”.In the letter, 256 civil society organisations, including Amnesty International, Unison, the Methodist Church, the Muslim Council of Britain and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, said that the bill is “an attack on the constitutional role of the judiciary and the rule of law” because it “legislates something that has been authoritatively found to be false by the Supreme Court”. Home Secretary James Cleverly and Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Vincent Biruta shake hands after they signed a new treaty in Kigali, Rwanda. The letter, coordinated by human rights organisation Liberty, continued: “If parliament validates legislating legal fictions in this way, it would set a dangerous precedent for future governments”. They also said that the bill would put the UK “on a direct collision course with the European Court of Human Rights”. The president of the ECHR, Siofra O’Leary, has said that the UK must legally comply with any Rule 39 orders issued by the Strasbourg court. A Rule 39 order grounded the first attempted flight carrying migrants from the UK to Rwanda in June 2022. Mr Sunak has put a clause in the Rwanda bill saying that it is “for ministers to decide whether to comply” with rulings from the ECHR.The statement addressed this saying: “Giving a minister legislative validation in ignoring them is a deeply concerning green light to the breaking of international law and erodes the UK’s commitment to the Convention.”LibDem peer Lord Purvis of Tweed, said that the Rwanda bill was “an unsustainable long-term policy”. He added: “It will cost the taxpayer millions while running roughshod over international law and doing nothing to solve the sky-high asylum backlog. “Let’s be clear, this bill sets a dangerous precedent for the future and that is why we will be voting against the bill and all that it stands for”. Labour peer Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, said the bill was “cruel, costly and un-British”, adding: “In dangerous and divided times for our country and the world, it is heartening to see so much of civil society coming together in defence of the best of our values”. Green party peer, Baroness Jenny Jones, called on her fellow members to “stop this appalling bill”. She said: “It is not a manifesto commitment and convention allows the Lords to reject it. If the prime minister wants to claim the Rwanda bill is the will of the people then please hold a general election”. Ahead of the second reading, human rights watchdog the Equality and Human Rights Commission also warned that the home secretary has been unable to confirm that the bill complies with the ECHR. A spokesperson said: “By disapplying sections of the Human Rights Act and seeking to prevent courts from considering the risk of refoulement, this bill could expose people to harm and breaches of their right to life, their rights to be free from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment and their right to effective remedy.”A Home Office spokesperson said:”We are determined to get flights off the ground to Rwanda and the UK has a strong and longstanding tradition of standing up for human rights.”Rwanda is a safe country that cares deeply about supporting refugees. It hosts more than 135,000 asylum seekers and stands ready to relocate people and help them rebuild their lives.” More