The first amendments fell, however, after the Committee Stage of the Government’s Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill began in the Lords on Monday evening. “The purpose of these amendments is to match the Bill more closely to the requirements of the Supreme Court judgment, so that it is more just and less open to challenge. The author of the Bill, Lord Sharpe, argued that the Government had done its own research and assessment of the safety of Rwanda and was confident in the terms of its treaty with Rwanda. Bishop Chessun also supported an amendment, brought by Lord Hailsham, to make it clear that the Bill replaced the Supreme Court findings. “Legislating that Rwanda is a safe country does not necessarily make it so for the potentially vulnerable people who might be sent there.

Source: The Times February 13, 2024 13:40 UTC