First deportation flight to Rwanda will not leave till summer, admits Sunak

The Rwanda deportation scheme will not begin until the summer, Rishi Sunak admitted on Monday, acknowledging a further delay to the policy even as MPs and peers began debating it for the final time.

With the Conservatives more than 20 points behind in the polls, some on the Tory benches are hoping the successful start of the Rwanda scheme will provide an electoral boost and shift the focus on to Labour’s migration policies.

Sunak on Monday sought to blame the Labour party for the numerous delays to the start of the scheme, even though the government had the parliamentary time to push it through earlier.

MPs and peers were preparing on Monday to sit long into the night debating whether the Rwanda bill, which declares the east African country safe for deportations, should be amended.

The House of Lords backed by 240 votes to 211 a requirement that the east African country could not be treated as safe until the secretary of state, having consulted an independent monitoring body, made a statement to parliament to that effect.

However, the opposition did not press its demand for the bill to include an exemption from removal for Afghan nationals who assisted British troops after what critics hailed as a concession.