Peers and MPs 'will sit and vote' until Rwanda Bill passes, says Sunak

Rishi Sunak dodged questions about whether deportation flights would begin in the spring. Photo: Yui Mok/PA

Rishi Sunak warned the Lords and MPs they will «sit and vote» on Monday until his Rwanda Bill becomes law.

The Prime Minister said that there would be «no more delays» after the House of Lords voted four times to block the bill and send the bill back to the House of Commons.

The parliamentary ping-pong over the Rwanda security bill lasted almost three weeks and began shortly before the two-week Easter holidays.

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This threatens to equal the record of five rounds of meetings between the two houses under the Labor Party's Terrorism Prevention Act in the early 2000s.

Avoiding questions about whether flights would start in the spring, Mr Sunak said: «The very simple thing is that everyone has repeatedly tried to stop us passing this bill.»

«And you've seen it again this year.» week. You've seen Labor colleagues block us again and it's very frustrating. Everyone's patience has run out, including me.

“So we intend to do it on Monday. No more prevarication, no more delays. We will sit and vote until this is done. We're going to get this bill passed and then we're going to work to stop flying to create a deterrent because that's the only way to solve this problem.»

The source of the standoff comes down to two amendments: a demand for exemption from deportation for Afghans who worked with the British military, and tighter controls over whether Rwanda remains safe for asylum seekers.

The bill will return to the House of Commons on Monday afternoon. where MPs will scrap the amendments and send them back to the House of Lords.

Downing Street said on Thursday that the Prime Minister would not make any concessions on legislative changes requested by the Lords.

A proposal to exempt Afghan employees working with the British from paying taxes received the largest majority in the House of Lords — more than 50 votes. It was backed by three former chiefs of the defense staff, as well as a former chief of the general staff and one naval staff member.

Mr Sunak's spokesman said: «There is no need for an amendment — we already have secure and legal routes for people of this category. In fact, this is one of the most generous, safest and legal routes we have. We are proud that this scheme has so far helped us move more than 16,000 people to safety.»

Mr Sunak has consistently said he wants deportation flights to Rwanda to begin in the spring, but Migrants intended for the first flights cannot be notified until the bill receives Royal Assent. Then comes the legal appeal process required by law for migrants, which will take between four and eight weeks.

The Prime Minister is expected to hold a press conference on Tuesday outlining plans to get flights to Rwanda if when the bill is passed on Monday.