LONDON: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s contentious emergency legislation to allow asylum seekers to be sent to Rwanda passed its first parliamentary hurdle on Tuesday (Dec 12).
Lawmakers in the House of Commons voted by 313 to 269 in favour of the bill, which was designed to address concerns raised by the UK Supreme Court which last month declared the policy to be unlawful.
The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill is Sunak’s answer to the unanimous Supreme Court ruling last month.
Interior minister James Cleverly admitted the plans were “novel” and “pushing at the edge of the envelope” but addressed the court’s concerns.
Extreme action was needed to break the business model of “evil people-smuggling gangs” preying on the vulnerable, he told MPs before a debate and the vote on the proposals.
“This is lawful, this is fair, this is necessary… This is how we restore confidence in our immigration and take control of our borders,” he said.
The bill is part of wider government action to cut record levels of regular and irregular immigration and is likely to be a key issue at next year’s election.
But by seeking to declare Rwanda safe — despite concerns from human rights monitors — and removing legal challenges to deportation orders, Sunak triggered deep factional Tory infighting not seen since wrangling over what form Brexit should take.
Hardline right-wingers said the proposals are not tough enough, while more liberal Tories are concerned they could see the UK break international law if they are amended down the line.
UK climate minister Graham Stuart was called back to vote from the critical last-stage talks at the COP28 summit in Dubai, sparking fury from green campaigners.