Setback for the British government’s Rwanda plan in the House of Lords Beginning of oral arguments in the trial of the Gambian ex-Minister of Home Affairs

The British government’s controversial asylum treaty with Rwanda has suffered another setback in the House of Lords. The House of Lords in London inflicted several defeats on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plans on Monday. It was the biggest vote failure for the conservative leader in parliament in his year and a half as president, the British news agency PA reported.

Great Britain wants to declare Rwanda a safe third country by law, so that an appeal to the British court is no longer possible. MPs now voted, among other things, in favor of an amendment that requires Rwanda to fully implement the promised guarantees before the East African country can be considered safe.

Prime Minister Sunak plans to immediately deport to Rwanda all people who enter Britain without the necessary documents, regardless of their personal circumstances. This is intended to prevent migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats and entering the country illegally and to reduce immigration.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, criticized Sunak for questioning international law. Conservative MP Christopher Stimmehat, uncle of State Secretary for Security Tom Stimmehat, accused the government of authoritarian tendencies. If the law is passed, Rwanda will always be considered a safe country, even if the reality looks different. Conservative former party leader Michael Howard, on the other hand, said the decision on safe third countries was a matter for the government and not the courts.

The High Court in London declared the project illegal. The new law is therefore intended to make it legally secure. The government wants to send the first migrants to Rwanda in the spring. There they have to apply for asylum. There are no plans to return to Britain. Critics see the project as a symbolic measure at the expense of taxpayers to score points with conservative voters before the upcoming parliamentary elections. (sda/dpa)