‘No ifs, no buts – flights are going to Rwanda,’ Rishi insists ahead of showdown as airfield and planes on standby
RISHI Sunak today revealed that an airfield and planes are on standby to remove illegal immigrants to Rwanda - but not until July.
The PM said the first deportations would be delayed for another "10 to 12 weeks" as he officially axed his previous spring deadline.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, he blamed Labour lords for the hold-up and confirmed Parliament will sit throughout the night if that is what it takes to get the flagship scheme approved.
Mr Sunak said: "For almost two years our opponents have used every trick in the book to block flights and keep the boats coming.
"Enough is enough. No more prevarication, no more delay. Parliament will sit there tonight and vote no matter how late it goes.
"No ifs, no buts. These flights are going to Rwanda.";
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At the surprise press conference the PM also:
- CONFIRMED commercial planes had been secured to take migrants to Kigali rather than the RAF
- SHUNTED his official deadline to start flights from the spring to the first two weeks of July
- OUTLINED his intent to get a "regular" stream of flights throughout the summer
- REVEALED 500 dedicated officials have been hired to help deport small boat migrants
- VOWED to ignore Euro judges if that is what it takes to stop the boats
- SLAMMED Labour for "actively frustrating" efforts to curb illegal immigration
- SPOKE as it emerged small boat crossings were 24 per cent higher since January than last year
The House of Lords has blocked the legislation by repeatedly amending the Bill, costing the Government three weeks of delay.
The wrangling has even forced Mr Sunak to ditch his spring deadline for getting flights to Kigali off the ground - instead shunting it to the first two weeks of July.
But he vowed to keep Parliament sitting late into the night today if necessary to pass the legislation, which seeks to make the plan legally watertight.
The PM said his patience with those blocking the Bill had “run thin”.
Ministers have faced questions about how quickly flights could take off after the Safety of Rwanda Bill was passed.
Assuring the groundwork has been done, Mr Sunak said Government teams "are working flat out to deliver this genuine game changer".
HARRY COLE: Yes peers have blocked Rwanda - but no more than No10
HARRY COLE, Political Editor
SO Spring becomes the second half of the year.
Rishi Sunak was sticking to his line that the first planes would leave for Rwanda in the spring as little as ten days ago.
But today at a hastily arranged Downing Street press conference, despite lots of dramatics, he admitted it will not be wheels up for at least another 10 to 12 weeks.
That takes us to early July before the so-called "emergency legislation" announced last December will actually come into force.
Yes peers have delayed the process, but no more than No10 who went slow on the legislation through January and March.
It felt to me like a tacit concession that this is all hideously complicated legal minefield after all - and the Government cannot afford another bungle.
So go slow and get it right rather than risk another embarrassing disaster with a plane grounded by judges on the runway.
But critics say the Rwanda bill that is finally set to clear the Parliament in the wee hours of Tuesday morning will not work and is still not legally watertight.
Yet with Tory MPs fearing the aftermath of May's local elections for a fresh round of leadership woes, today's fighting talk was as much about internal party management as having a pop at Labour peers for trying to frustrate the Rwanda process.
With Westminster awash of a summer election, today's latest delay probably rules out a poll in June.
But the PM stuck to his line that he plans to go to the country in the second half of the year today.
Which of course July technically falls into...
That includes increasing detention capacity to 2,200 spaces, training 200 caseworkers, identifying 150 judges and freeing up 25 courtrooms.
He added: "And to do that, I can confirm that we've put an airfield on standby, booked commercial charter planes for specific slots and we have 500 highly trained individuals ready to escort illegal migrants all the way to Rwanda, with 300 more trained in the coming weeks."
Ahead of this morning's press conference, Mr Sunak summoned a meeting of the Illegal Migrations Operations Committee in No10.
Focusing minds he told officials: "This bill sends a clear message; if you come here illegally, you won't be able to stay."
The Bill seeks to overcome the objections of the Supreme Court by forcing judges to deem Rwanda as a safe country for asylum seekers.
It allows ministers to ignore last-minute wrecking injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights.
Last week, peers amended the Bill to include an exemption for Afghan nationals who assisted British troops, as well as a provision meaning Rwanda cannot be treated as safe unless it is deemed so by an independent monitoring body.
MPs voted to overturn those changes this afternoon and the Bill has was sent back to the House of Lords.
At about 8.45pm, the Lords sent it back to the Commons with only one change to the draft law - a call for an independent monitoring committee.
The back and forth could happen a few times tonight.
The "parliamentary ping pong" - the process whereby the Bill is batted between the Commons and the Lords - will continue until they can agree the final wording.
Asked about the amendments pushed by peers on the independent monitoring of the safety of Rwanda, Foreign Office Minister Andrew Mitchell insisted it was not necessary.
When will the Rwanda Bill pass?
RISHI Sunak urged peers to back his flagship Rwanda Bill in a press conference today.
It came ahead of what is expected the be the latest parliamentary showdown over the legislation.
The Bill, with on Lords amendments attached, is being passed between the Lords and the Commons until a final agreement is reached.
Changes made by the Lords were earlier rejected by MPs.
If peers decide to back down, then the Bill will pass but they could hold out for more rounds of ping pong.
The Prime Minister warned last week he will keep Parliament sitting late into the night if necessary.
Government sources believe the Rwanda Bill will go through today.
He also accused peers of engaging in discussions that "border on racism" when it comes to the judicial arrangements in the East African nation.
He told the BBC: "Some of the discussions that have gone on in the Lords about the judicial arrangements, the legal arrangements within Rwanda, have been patronising. And in my view, border on racism.
"So we don't think it's necessary to have that amendment either and that the necessary structures are in place to ensure that the scheme works properly and fairly."
He even said that "if you look at the statistics, Kigali is actually safer than London”.
While Labour and Lib Dem critics argue the Bill is too tough, some Tory right-wingers do not believe it is strong enough.
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Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman today said the plan had "too many loopholes" letting asylum seekers launch court challenges.
She said the legislation would not have the "deterrent effect that is necessary to break the people smuggling gangs, to send the message to the illegal migrants that it's not worth getting on a dinghy in the first place because you're not going to get a life in the UK".
What is the Rwanda plan - and what's been the hold up?
What is the Rwanda plan?
Under the plan, anyone who arrives in Britain illegally will be deported to Rwanda, a country in eastern Africa.
The government believes the threat of being removed to Rwanda will deter migrants from making the dangerous Channel crossing in small boats.
Once in Rwanda, their asylum claims will be processed but there is no route back to the UK, save for some exceptional circumstances such as individual safety concerns. Britain will pay for migrants to start a new life in Rwanda.
What’s the hold up?
First announced by Boris Johnson in 2022, the scheme has been bogged down by relentless legal challenges.
The first flight was due to take off in summer 2022, but was blocked on the runway at the last minute by a European Court order.
Since then the legality of the plan has been contested in the courts, culminating in a Supreme Court judgement in November last year which said Rwanda was unsafe for asylum seekers.
What is Sunak doing?
To salvage the Rwanda plan from the Supreme Court’s scathing ruling, Rishi Sunak announced a two-pronged workaround.
First, he would sign a new treaty with Rwanda to beef up protections for asylum seekers that will be enshrined in law.
Second, he would introduce new legislation that would declare Rwanda a safe country.
It would mean courts, police and officials would have to treat it as safe unless there is a risk of individual and irreparable harm.
How long will that take?
The legislation has cleared the Commons but is now being held up in the House of Lords.
Rishi Sunak does not have a majority in the Lords, and peers are far more hostile to the plan.
They will likely send it back to the Commons with amendments watering down the scheme.
Such changes would be unconscionable to MPs who would strip out the measures and send it back.
This “ping-pong” will continue until either side - usually the unelected Lords - gives in and the Bill passes.
When will flights take off?
Mr Sunak wants to get the first flights sent to Rwanda by the spring.
But potential hurdles include more court battles launched by individual migrants either in UK courts or the European Court of Human Rights.
Mr Sunak has vowed to ignore any more orders by Strasbourg judges to ground planes, although individual appeals in domestic courts could prove tricky.
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will scrap the scheme if he is elected PM, even if it is working