Labour, not Lords, to blame for delays to Rwanda Bill – Mordaunt

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt said she blames Labour not the House of Lords for delays to the Rwanda Bill, as the parliamentary stand-off persists.

Meanwhile, Labour has accused the Government of pushing back the legislation until after Easter because it is not ready to implement the scheme.

The plan to send some asylum seekers on a one-way ticket to Kigali was dealt another blow when peers inflicted a further series of defeats to the draft law on Wednesday.

MPs had rejected a raft of changes made to the draft legislation by the Lords earlier this week and ministers urged the unelected chamber to help get it on to the statute books, but peers have again pressed their demands for revisions.

The second round of Lords amendments to the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, which includes overturning the bid to oust the courts from the process, will be considered on April 15.

If the parliamentary “ping pong” persists and the Lords make any further changes to the Bill after April 15, time has been set aside on April 17 for the Commons to consider them.

During business questions, shadow Commons leader Lucy Powell said: “The Rwanda ping pong won’t be until after Easter, so why if it’s such an emergency has she yet again delayed programming this legislation?

“She delayed committee stage over Christmas because of disquiet on their side, now she’s pushed back further Lords’ amendments until after Easter.

“I know she will want to blame the Lords but it’s her timetable and it keeps getting stretched. Is it because the costs just keep going up and up and the scheme is unworkable?

“The truth is, if they were ready to implement this scheme, we would see the Bill back here next week. This is their timetable, it’s their delay, no-one else’s.”

Ms Mordaunt replied: “I have no wish to blame their Lordships in the delay in this Bill, let me be very clear: I wish to blame Labour for this delay.

“For all Labour’s talk of being tough on borders, they have voted against our plans to do that 111 times and they have voted 98 times against our measures to stop the boats.”

James Cleverly also sought to blame Labour for the latest setback, claiming the Opposition “and their allies” want to “delay, disrupt or destroy” the plan.

The Home Secretary added: “People are risking their lives in the hands of people who don’t care if they die as long as they pay. The talking needs to end so we can get on with the job of saving lives and stopping the boats.”

But Mr Cleverly’s opposite number Yvette Cooper said the Tories would be bringing the Bill back next week to “get on with it” if they were serious about implementing their plan.

“The half-a-billion pound Rwanda scheme is a failing farce, which will only cover less than 1% of asylum arrivals,” she said.

“It is clearer than ever that Rishi Sunak knows this plan won’t work and only sees it as a political gimmick to get what the former immigration minister described as ‘symbolic flights off just before an election’.

“If the Conservatives were ready to implement this, they would be bringing the Bill back to complete the remaining stages next week and get on with it.

“But because their plans aren’t ready, they’ve decided to delay the Bill as well, so they can try to blame everyone else for the chaos they have created, and the fact that they haven’t got a proper plan.”

The latest setbacks means a continuation of the Westminster stand-off known as parliamentary “ping pong”, where the Houses bat one another’s proposed changes to draft legislation back and forth.

As such there is little chance of the Bill clearing Parliament before MPs leave Westminster for the Easter break next Tuesday.

The Bill and a treaty with Rwanda are intended to prevent further legal challenges to the stalled asylum scheme after the Supreme Court ruled the plan was unlawful.

As well as compelling judges to regard the east African country as safe, it would also give ministers the power to ignore emergency injunctions.

But the Lords have again insisted on an amendment to restore the jurisdiction of domestic courts in relation to the safety of Rwanda and enable them to intervene.

Peers also renewed their demand for the Bill to have “due regard” for domestic and international law, and that Rwanda can only be declared safe when the protections in the treaty are fully implemented and while they remain in place.

Other changes included moves to reduce the risk of unaccompanied children being sent to Rwanda and a block on the removal of victims of modern slavery and human trafficking, as well as those who worked with the UK military or government overseas, such as Afghan interpreters.