LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised Monday that the first deportation flight to Rwanda to carry migrants entering the country illegally will take off in 10-12 weeks, as he vowed to end a parliamentary deadlock. A key policy promise Ahead of elections expected later this year.
Sunak made the comments at a news conference where he demanded the unelected House of Lords stop legislation allowing deportation flights, a central part of the government's strategy to “stop the boats” of illegal immigrants crossing the English Channel.
The Prime Minister assured that Parliament will continue to sit until the Act is passed. The House of Commons will take up the bill later, followed by consideration in the House of Lords.
“Enough is enough,” Sunak said, adding that commercial charter flights have been registered to take asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Illegal Channel Crossings a A strong political issue In Britain, they are seen as evidence of the government's failure to control immigration. The number of small boat arrivals has increased to 45,774 in 2022 from 299 four years ago.
Small boat arrivals fell to 29,437 last year as the government cracked down on traffickers and reached an agreement to return Albanians to their home country.
Although Sunak admitted he would not be able to meet his self-imposed deadline to get the first deportation flights in the air this spring, he blamed persistent opposition from the opposition Labor Party for delays. His push to finally push the legislation through parliament comes less than two weeks before local elections, which will be a key barometer of support for Sunak's conservative party, which is trailing in opinion polls.
The prime minister declined to give details on how many people would be on the flights or when they would take off because he said opponents would continue to try to fudge the policy. Immigrant lawyers have already said they plan to challenge the law at the European Court of Human Rights.
“We are ready, the plans are in place, these planes will go no matter what,” Sunak said. “No foreign court can prevent flights from taking off.”
The bill is suspended For two months it bounced back and forth between the two houses of Parliament, with the Lords repeatedly offering amendments that were then rejected by the Commons. The Lords do not have the power to kill legislation, but they must give their consent before it becomes law.
The Conservative Party plans to send some migrants to Rwanda to convince people that crossing the English Channel in leaky inflatable boats is not worth it. The scheme, pursued by three prime ministers in the past two years, has so far been blocked by court rulings and vocal opposition from immigrant advocates, calling it illegal and inhumane.
The current law, known as Rwanda's Security Bill, is a response Supreme Court Judgment It banned deportation flights because the government did not guarantee the safety of migrants sent to Rwanda.
After signing a new agreement with Rwanda to increase protection for migrants, the government proposed new legislation declaring Rwanda a safe country.
Alex Carlyle, an independent member of the House of Lords, said the amendments were designed to improve “ill-judged, poorly drafted, inappropriate” legislation that is “illegal under current UK and international law”.
“It was, in my view, the most indescribable and emotionless day I've experienced in nearly 40 years in one house of Parliament or another,” he told the BBC. “Rishi Sunak asking Parliament what to do is telling a lie to be true.”
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