RISHI Sunak is braced for a fresh round of parliamentary wrangling over his bill to save the Government’s stalled Rwanda deportation scheme, as MPs and peers head back to Westminster this week.
The 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”.
MPs will consider amendments to the Safety of Rwanda Bill by the House of Lords, which inflicted a series of defeats against the policy before rising for the spring break.
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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 (below) suggested on Sunday the Home Office is “ready to go” in implementing the legislation gets on to the statute books.
It 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 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 £290 million, elsewhere.
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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.
Commenting, the SNP's justice and immigration spokesperson Chris Stephens said: “The UK government’s desperate attempts to deport asylum seekers and refugees to other countries not only ignores it's own travel advice, but reveals their warped priorities and complete disregard for the safety and security of people fleeing war and persecution.
"The Tories’ have spent £240 million on this scheme already, whilst people across these islands struggle to make ends meet, and parliamentary time pushing through legislation to define Rwanda as safe country, which ignores the fact that we have granted asylum to people from Rwanda - all so they can fulfil their dodgy culture war fantasy.
“This whole Westminster scheme is a far cry from the values and priorities of the people of Scotland."
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.”
Peers are expected to mull the bill on Tuesday and could then send it back to the Commons with amendments later in the week, prolonging the process known as parliamentary ping-pong where legislation is batted between the two Houses.
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