Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has urged the House of Lords to pass his key Rwanda bill, while also warning peers not to “frustrate the will of the people”.
Rishi Sunak
Speaking at a press conference as MPs approved the legislation, Mr Sunak said it was now the Lord’s job to “do the right thing”.
He said the government is still working on resuming deportation flights by spring.
He also said peers needed to pass the bill “as soon as possible”.
The legislation, which seeks to revive the government’s work on sending some asylum seekers to the East African country, passed the House of Commons on Wednesday with 276 votes out of 320.
Although in the end just 11 Conservative MPs voted against the entire legislation, Mr Sunak faced his biggest rebellion since becoming prime minister, with almost 60 supporting the changes he proposed. It was said that this is going to make the law stricter.
The rebels believe the bill will not work in its current form because they believe legal challenges could disrupt flights.
The policy aims to stop people crossing the Channel in boats, which Mr Sunak has described as a key priority of his tenure as Prime Minister.
However, Labor says it is an expensive “gimmick” that seems impractical and illegal.