Government Confirms MPs Won't Tackle Rwanda Bill Until Mid-April

The Rwanda Bill will not be passed until mid-April at the earliest, with confirmation this morning that MPs will get the chance to vote on Lords’ amendments on their first day back in Parliament after Easter recess.

Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt told MPs this morning that the Safety of Rwanda Bill will be back in the Commons on 15 April, with time also allocated for them to look at it again two days later on 17 April if peers decide to make any further changes. 

It had been expected that the legislation could be on the statute book before Easter as Rishi Sunak hopes to get his plans so send asylum seekers to the African country operational.

Labour frontbencher Lucy Powell said that the government’s timetable “keeps getting stretched”. Mordaunt said that she blames “Labour Lords” for the delay that could see flights grounded for weeks from now. 

On Wednesday night, the Lords approved seven new amendments to the government’s legislation, after their ten previous changes were thrown out by the Commons earlier this week. 

Their changes included exempting people who had supported the UK armed forces overseas from deportation to Rwanda, and a provision to force the government to give “due regard” to domestic and international law. 

The Safety of Rwanda Bill declares Rwanda a safe country, as the government’s previous attempts to send asylum seekers to the country have been caught up by challenges in both domestic and international courts. The plans are a core part of Rishi Sunak's pledge to stop small boat crossings. 

In November, the Supreme Court dismissed a government appeal and found that the scheme was unlawful on the grounds that it could potentially breach the rule that asylum-seekers cannot be sent back to their country