Archbishop will not block Rwanda Bill
THE Archbishop of Canterbury has signalled he will no longer obstruct Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda Bill in the House of Lords.
The Most Rev Justin Welby, one of the Bill’s most vocal Upper House critics, acknowledged the Commons was the “senior house” and expected the Government to prevail.
The Prime Minister hopes to get flights to Rwanda in the air this spring.
But legislation to send migrants arriving here illegally to the African country has been in limbo, following a series of defeats in the Lords.
Conservative MP Sir Michael Fabricant said he was “glad that this holy man has finally seen the light”.
He added: “If Rwanda deters illegal immigration across the Channel and saves lives, the Archbishop will know he has made the right decision.”
MP Marco Longhi said: “Well, better late than never.”
A Tory source said: “The big pointless human bollard, [Labour leader] Sir Keir Starmer, is now the only one holding the Bill up. Hopefully, he will take a sermon from the Archbishop and see sense soon.”
The Archbishop, 68, insisted he would continue to “morally” object to the Rwanda policy. But he told radio station LBC’s Full Disclosure podcast: “The Government will, I’m sure, prevail. The Commons is the senior house, and quite rightly.
“And in the end, on the Rwanda Bill, the Lords will say, ‘OK, we’ve made our case, you don’t accept it and that’s the end of it’.” Former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: “The delay in reaching this far more sensible position has probably cost lives because the Rwanda plan’s deterrence effect has not been in place thanks to the Lords’ opposition.”