The Prime Minister has said on Thursday that he is open to changes, but backed up by “respectable” legal arguments over the Rwanda Bill.
On Tuesday MPs voted in the House of Commons over Rishi Sunak’s emergency draft law to start deporting asylum seekers on flights to Rwanda.
Speaking to broadcasters on Thursday, Sunak said, “I’ve been very consistently clear, as have all ministers, if there are ways that the legislation can be improved, to be made even more effective — with a respectable legal argument and maintaining the participation of the Rwandans in the scheme — of course we would be open to that, who wouldn’t be?”
Read more related news:
Clear majorities think Sunak has done a bad job on key public priorities such as the NHS and cost of living
Mayor warns of ‘full blown recruitment crisis’ amid the government’s migration policy
Sunak’s Rwanda Bill to ‘live another day’ but ‘will be killed next month’ without amendments
The Prime Minister refused to be drawn on how soon the flight will get of the ground to send asylum seekers to Kigali.
In an interview with The Spectator magazine, Sunak said that he is “keen to crack on with it,” when asked over the timings of the flights.
He added, “What the country wants is a practical government that is making a difference to their lives and changing things for the better, not a debating society.
“People are frustrated that the pace of change is not fast enough. I get that. I am working night and day, tirelessly, to keep making a difference.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman was asked on Thursday if the current Rwanda Bill is the only way forward, he told journalists, “We continue to believe that the Bill is the right way forward. It is what is necessary to get flights off the ground and off the ground quickly.
“We talked yesterday about the parameters the Bill needs to work under but within that we are very keen to hear more from MPs.”
Leave a Comment