Migrant detentions can start in days under UK’s Rwanda law

The legislation formally passed after the House of Lords decided not to table any further amendments.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a press conference at Downing Street. Picture: AFP

British government plans for deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda cleared their final hurdle overnight on Monday, after a marathon tussle between the upper and lower chambers of parliament lasting late into the night.

The Times reported the new legislation would pave the way for the detention of migrants within days under plans to get the first deportation flights off the ground by July.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government had reserved 2200 detention spaces and already chartered planes to ensure that flights could begin in 10 to 12 weeks. He promised that planes would depart for Kigali “come what may” and that there would then be a “regular rhythm of multiple flights every month” over the northern summer and beyond.

Mr Sunak and his ruling Conservatives have been seeking to push through legislation that will compel judges to regard the east African nation as a safe third country. They also want to give decision-makers on asylum applications the power to disregard sections of international and domestic human rights law to get around a British Supreme Court ruling that sending migrants on a one-way ticket to Kigali was illegal.

But the government faced a parliamentary battle to do so, with the House of Lords, which scrutinises bills, repeatedly sending the proposed legislation back to the House of Commons with amendments.

Peers, who have criticised the bill as inadequate, notably wanted a requirement that Rwanda could not be treated as safe until an independent monitoring body said so. They also wanted an exemption for agents, allies and employees of Britain overseas, including Afghans who fought alongside British armed forces, from being removed.

MPs in the Commons, where the Tories have a majority, voted down every amendment and asked the Lords to think again in a back-and-forth process known as “parliamentary ping pong”.

The Rwanda bill has now formally passed after the Lords debate. Picture: UK Parliament Live TV/The Times

The unelected upper chamber, where there is no overall majority for any party, dug in their heels.

But shortly before midnight they eventually conceded to the will of elected MPs and agreed to make no further amendments, ending the deadlock and ensuring the bill will now receive royal assent to pass into law.

Mr Sunak’s government has been under mounting pressure to cut record numbers of asylum seekers crossing the Channel from northern France in small boats, particularly following a promise of a tougher approach to immigration after Britain left the EU.

The Rwanda scheme – criticised by UN human rights experts and groups supporting asylum seekers – has been beset by legal challenges since it was first proposed in 2022.

That year, the first deportees were pulled off a flight at the last minute after an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights. Two years on, no migrants have been sent.

The National Audit Office has estimated it will cost Britain £540m ($1.03bn) to deport the first 300 migrants – nearly £2m per person.

A plane was on standby to take migrants to Rwanda as early as June 2022, but legal challenges have prevented the policy from taking off. Picture: AFP

Charities have said the scheme is unworkable and, given the small numbers involved, would do little to cut the backlog of asylum claims. Other critics say it sets a dangerous precedent of parliament legislating on an issue already deemed illegal by the courts, and will damage Britain’s international standing and moral authority.

Rwanda – a nation of 13 million people – lays claim to being one of the most stable countries in Africa. But rights groups accuse veteran President Paul Kagame of ruling in a climate of fear, stifling dissent and free speech.

Mr Sunak announced earlier on Monday that the government was ready and had plans in place for the first flights to take off in 10 to 12 weeks, promising a wave of deportations “come what may” over the summer months.

The PM is banking on the “stop the boats” policy to act as a deterrent and give his beleaguered Tory party an electoral boost as the country prepares to go to the polls later this year. The Conservatives have consistently trailed Labour in opinion polls and are on course to be dumped after 14 years.

Mr Sunak’s plans could still be held up by legal challenges, and UN rights experts have suggested airlines and aviation regulators could fall foul of internationally protected human rights laws if they take part in deportations.

AFP