The first flight carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda will leave in 10-12 weeks, Rishi Sunak said as he promised that “no ifs, no buts” the scheme would be put into operation.
The Prime Minister said “enough is enough” as he said MPs and peers would sit through the night if necessary to get the Safety of Rwanda Bill through Parliament.
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The Prime Minister said “enough is enough” as he said MPs and peers would sit through the night if necessary to get the Safety of Rwanda Bill through Parliament.
Report by Covellm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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NewsTranscript
00:00 It's been over four months since the government introduced the Rwanda Bill to the House of
00:05 Commons. More than two years have passed since the policy designed to deter migrants from
00:09 crossing the Channel in small boats was announced, but flights are still yet to take off. Today
00:16 could mark a significant moment as the legislation approaches its final passage. Rishi Sunak
00:22 is certainly optimistic about it. On Friday, he said that Parliament would sit there and
00:27 vote until it's done. So the Bill will continue to ping pong between
00:43 the House of Commons and the House of Lords until it gains approval.
00:52 Back and forth. The Bill cleared the House of Commons in January,
01:01 despite objections from some Conservative MPs who wanted it beefed up. Peers have tried
01:07 to amend the legislation multiple times, but MPs have consistently overturned those changes.
01:14 Given the government's majority, the Bill was expected to pass through its final stages
01:18 on Wednesday, but another vote is now anticipated today. If it does pass, charities supporting
01:26 asylum seekers have indicated their intention to launch legal challenges as quickly as possible.
01:33 Labour acknowledges that eventually the amendments will be rejected, however it may take several
01:38 attempts. Well it looks to me that the Bill will pass
01:41 because the government have got the numbers to make this happen, but we don't believe
01:45 that it's the right approach. The Rwanda scheme is an undeliverable gimmick. It's going to
01:50 cost over half a billion pounds and only covers 300 people, so it's a very, very small number
01:55 of people that we're talking about. If the Bill continues to move between the
01:59 Houses multiple times, it could lead to a late night in Westminster.
02:04 Today during a Downing Street press conference, Rishi Sunak attributed the delays to Labour
02:09 opposition. For almost two years, our opponents have used
02:13 every trick in the book to block flights and keep the boats coming. But enough is enough.
02:19 No more prevarication, no more delay. Parliament will sit there tonight and vote no matter
02:25 how late it goes. No ifs, no buts, these flights are going to Rwanda.
02:32 Labour though insisted that Rishi Sunak could have passed the Rwanda Bill through Parliament
02:36 much sooner, saying that the government are looking for someone else to blame.
02:41 The government has an overall majority in Parliament and could have passed this Bill
02:45 a month ago if they'd scheduled it then. But as we know, Rishi Sunak always looks for someone
02:49 else to blame. This is an extortionate scheme. They should be putting that money into boosting
02:55 our border security instead. Sunak hopes that the first flights carrying
03:00 asylum seekers to Rwanda will depart in 10 to 12 weeks. Initially promising flights to
03:06 Rwanda in spring, Sunak's revised timetable suggests the first plane will depart in July.
03:12 The Prime Minister stressed that "enough is enough" and indicated willingness for MPs
03:17 and peers to sit through the night if necessary to pass the Bill.