UNELECTED HOUSE OF LORDS DEFIES MPS AGAIN OVER FLAGSHIP RWANDA BILL
A parliamentary wrangle over Rishi Sunak's flagship Rwanda Bill is set to continue after unelected peers once again defied the House of Commons.
The House of Lords maintained its stand-off with MPs over the legislation as it inflicted a fresh defeat on the Government this afternoon.
Peers approved a fresh change to the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill by 258 votes to 233, majority 25.
The Labour amendment demanded the Bill has 'due regard' for international and key domestic laws, including human rights and modern slavery legislation.
The latest Government defeat means the Bill will now have to go through a third round of parliamentary 'ping ping' as ministers bid to get the legislation on the statute book.
It comes as Rishi Sunak faces increasing pressure over his pledge to 'stop the boats' amid the Channel migrant crisis.
The Government successfully overturned six Lords' amendments last night as MPs returned the Bill to its original form.
But peers refused to back down in their opposition to the Bill, which declares Rwanda a safe destination to send asylum seekers, by successfully pressing for further change today.
An analysis of Home Office data found more than 75,000 migrants have crossed the Channel to Britain since ministers first announced the Rwanda plan two years ago.
No asylum seekers have yet been sent to the east African country after the multi-million pound scheme got bogged down in legal challenges.
On Sunday, 534 people were detected crossing the Channel - which was the highest number on a single day so far this year.
Following this afternoon's action by the Lords, the Bill will now return to the Commons on Wednesday for more votes before once again being passed back to the Lords.
The legislation will only receive royal assent and become law once both Houses have agreed on its final wording in a process known as parliamentary ping-pong.
Downing Street today said the Government remains focused on getting migrant flights off to Rwanda 'as soon as possible'.
A Number 10 spokeswoman said: 'We remain focused on getting the Bill passed as soon as possible so we can get flights off the ground and break the business model of the criminal gangs.'
She added: 'The Prime Minister's message to parliamentarians across both houses hasn't changed.
'We need to act to save lives and that's what this Bill will help us to do.'
The ongoing standoff between the two Houses of Parliament continues to delay flights deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda, seen by the Government as a vital deterrent to the small boats crossing the Channel.
The Government has previously said it wanted to get flights off the ground in the spring.
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