UK passes bill: Sunak vows nothing will stand in way of Rwanda flights
London, April 23: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday welcomed the passage of his government's controversial Safety of Rwanda Bill by Parliament overnight and pledged that nothing will stand in the way of illegal migrants being flown out to the African country.
A day after he revealed a timeframe between 10 and 12 weeks for the first flights taking off from an undisclosed airfield via chartered planes lined up, Mr Sunak described the passage of his "landmark" bill as a “fundamental change” in the handling of global migration. On Monday night, the House of Lords finally gave way to the legislative primacy of the Commons at the end of a lengthy back and forth demanding amendments on a bill drafted to prevent legal challenges.
“The passing of this landmark legislation is not just a step forward but a fundamental change in the global equation on migration,” Mr Sunak said.
“We introduced the Rwanda Bill to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit them,” he said.
London, April 23: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday welcomed the passage of his government’s controversial Safety of Rwanda Bill by Parliament overnight and pledged that nothing will stand in the way of illegal migrants being flown out to Rwanda.
A day after he revealed a timeframe between 10 and 12 weeks for the first flights taking off.
On Monday night, the House of Lords finally gave way to the legislative primacy of the Commons at the end of a lengthy back and forth demanding amendments on a bill drafted to prevent legal challenges.
“The passing of this landmark legislation is not just a step forward but a fundamental change in the global equation on migration,” Sunak said.
“We introduced the Rwanda Bill to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit them. The passing of this legislation will allow us to do
The passing of this landmark legislation is not just a step forward but a fundamental change in the global equation on migration. — RISHI SUNAK British PM
that and make it very clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay,” he said.
“Our focus is to now get flights off the ground, and I am clear that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives,” he added.
The government is banking on bringing down soaring illegal migration numbers as a result of the “deterrent effect” of the bill, which will become law after Royal Assent from King Charles III. Under the law, migrants arriving illegally on UK shores would be deported to Kigali for their asylum claims to be processed.
French media reported that five people have died attempting to cross the English Channel towards the UK.