Rwanda bill delayed for at least a day after Lords pass amendments

The Rwanda deportation bill has been delayed for at least one more day after the House of Lords voted for amendments that would ensure that it adheres to international and key domestic laws.

The plan to spend £541m to send 300 people seeking asylum to east Africa was sent back to the House of Commons after peers voted several times to add protections for claimants to the bill.

A short time later, in a third government defeat, the Lords again insisted by 253 votes to 236 on an amendment to restore the jurisdiction of domestic courts in relation to the safety of Rwanda and to enable them to intervene.

The shadow ministers Stephen Kinnock and Luke Pollard have written to the government asking them to support an amendment that would exempt Afghans who have worked alongside the armed forces from being deported to Rwanda.

There was more bad news for the government on Tuesday evening, when Costa Rica ruled out accepting people deported by the UK, after reports that Downing Street hopes to expand a controversial arrangement with Rwanda aimed at discouraging asylum seekers.

The bill and the treaty with Rwanda, which was signed last year by James Cleverly, are meant to prevent further legal challenges to the stalled asylum scheme after the supreme court ruled that the plan was unlawful.