UK plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda suffers first parliamentary defeats

5/3/2024 6:21

        British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suffered his first defeats over his legislation to send asylum seekers to Rwanda after the upper house of parliament demanded greater protections to be introduced before deportation flights can take off.
        
        Under the Rwanda plan, which has yet to be carried out, asylum seekers who arrive on England's southern coast in small, inflatable boats would be sent to live in Rwanda, but so far no one has been deported because of ongoing legal challenges.
        
        In an effort to overcome resistance from the courts, Sunak's government is passing legislation through parliament that would block further legal challenges by declaring Rwanda a so-called safe country for asylum seekers.
        
        Unelected members of the House of Lords, largely made of former politicians and government officials, voted in favour of one amendment that would mean flights could only take off when a treaty - that would implement legal safeguards in the Rwandan asylum system - had been fully implemented.