London [UK], April 16: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is braced for a fresh round of parliamentary wrangling over his bill to save his government's stalled Rwanda deportation scheme, as lawmakers head back to Westminster this week.
The House of Commons returns from Easter recess on Monday with the legislation high on the agenda after a minister insisted flights carrying asylum seekers to Kigali should be taking off "within weeks." It comes as Sunday became the busiest day yet for Channel crossings so far this year after more than 500 migrants arrived in the UK in a single day.
It means some 6,000 people have made the journey in 2024 to date, with more than 75,000 arrivals recorded two years on from the Rwanda deal being signed. Members of parliament will consider amendments to the Safety of Rwanda Bill by the House of Lords, which inflicted a series of defeats against the controversial policy before leaving for the spring break.
The government will seek to strip out changes made by peers who want extra legal safeguards, including a provision to ensure "due regard" for domestic and international law.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins suggested on Sunday the Home Office is "ready to go" in implementing the plan when the Bill gets on to the statute books. The legislation seeks to revive the government's plan to send some asylum seekers on a one-way flight to Kigali, which has faced a series of setbacks since it was announced two years ago by then-prime minister Boris Johnson. It declares the east African country is safe after the policy was grounded by the Supreme Court ruling the scheme was unlawful.
Meanwhile, the Times newspaper reported on Monday that Britain had also approached countries including Costa Rica, Armenia, Ivory Coast and Botswana a bid to replicate the scheme, which is set to cost at least £290mn ($362mn), elsewhere.
The UK is in talks with the nations after Sunak gave the Home Office and Foreign Office a deadline of last autumn to secure two additional deals, according to the paper.
A government spokesperson said Britain is "continuing to work with a range of international partners to tackle global illegal migration challenges." They said: "Our focus right now is passing the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which builds on the Illegal Migration Act, and putting plans in place to get flights off the ground as soon as possible."
Source: Qatar Tribune
