Legislation to facilitate the deportation of illegal migrants to Rwanda finally passed through the U.K. parliament in the early hours of Tuesday evening after several hours of debate and parliamentary ping-pong.
The Safety of Rwanda Bill was adopted by the House of Commons with 312 votes in favor to 237 against after the House of Lords exhausted its attempts to revise the legislation — a move that could see deportation flights depart for Rwanda in the weeks ahead.
The bill had been held up for several weeks by the House of Lords, the U.K. parliament’s upper chamber, and it had been necessary to override concerns held by the U.K. Supreme Court whose ruling back in November last year declared the scheme unlawful due to Rwanda being unsafe for the purpose of deporting migrants.
The Conservative government hailed the bill’s passing as a victory despite several prominent conservatives remaining skeptical over its effectiveness in tackling the ongoing illegal migration crisis on England’s southern shores.
Parliamentarians were ordered by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “sit there tonight and vote no matter how late it goes” as the bill traveled back and forth between Britain’s legislative chambers before finally passing shortly after midnight.
Home Secretary James Cleverly hailed its passing as a “landmark moment in our plan to stop the posts,” claiming it will “prevent people from abusing the law by using false human rights claims to block removals” while giving the government the power to “reject interim blocking measures imposed by European courts.”
However, several prominent conservatives including former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and ex-Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick believe the bill doesn’t go far enough to combat widespread illegal migration.
The bill is expected to receive Royal Assent on Tuesday — the final administrative hurdle to becoming law in Britain.
However, just hours after the Commons victory for the prime minister, the boats continued to roll in from mainland Europe as dozens of illegal migrants seized their opportunity to reach Britain.
Tragically, not all made it, with reports on Tuesday morning that five people had died in an overcrowded boat attempting to carry 117 people across the English Channel.
Those dead included a seven-year-old girl, a woman, and three adult males.
