Rishi Sunak last night saw his Rwanda Bill pass unamended through the House of Commons as he continued his efforts to 'Stop the Boats'.
The Prime Minister secured victory after a threatened widespread rebellion against the legislation by Tory MPs melted away.
Formally titled the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, the draft laws are aimed at ensuring migrant deportation flights to Rwanda finally get off the ground.
Both the Bill and a new treaty agreed with Kigali are part of Mr Sunak's strategy for manoeuvring around last year's Supreme Court ruling against the asylum scheme.
But despite MPs approving the legislation, there are still a number of hurdles for Mr Sunak to clear before a first plane-load of asylum seekers might arrive in Africa.
The House of Lords
Now MPs have approved the Third Reading of the Rwanda Bill, it passes to the House of Lords for peers to scrutinise the legislation.
As happened in the Commons, the Bill will have to go through the same stages it did when it was debated by MPs - a First Reading, Second Reading, Committee Stage, Report Stage and, finally, a Third Reading.
Downing Street is braced for peers to try and amend the Rwanda Bill as it passes through the upper chamber.
The controversial nature of both the legislation and the Rwanda scheme means it is highly likely that members of the Lords will attempt to change the Bill.
One leading peer, crossbencher Lord Carlile, has also warned some of his colleagues in the unelected House might try and 'kill' the legislation.
He told Sky News: 'The House of Lords is not in the business of killing Bills that come from the House of Commons - our first task is to try and make it work.
'But there are some of us who might well consider killing it, if what emerges is not acceptable under UK legal norms.'
Mr Sunak has warned peers not to 'frustrate the will of the people' and told them to 'do the right thing' when it comes to the Rwanda Bill.
'Ping-pong'
Should peers successfully amend the Rwanda Bill in the Lords, the Government might try and remove those amendments when the legislation returns to the Commons.
This would prompt a process known as 'ping-pong' whereby a Bill passes between the Commons and the Lords as MPs and peers attempt to settle on a final version of legislation.
Lord Carlile insisted it was 'right' for peers to send the Rwanda Bill back to the Commons 'repeatedly if necessary'.
A period of 'ping-pong' could also revive the prospect of Tory revolt in the Commons, after Conservative rebels warned they could re-mobilise if peers try to make changes to the Bill that weaken its powers.
'Tonight is not the end of matters... the PM is by no means out of the woods,' a source said, as the Bill passed its Third Reading in the Commons.
Royal Assent
If the Government accepts Lords amendments, or peers concede defeat in repeatedly trying to amend the Bill during 'ping-pong', the legislation will then receive Royal Assent.
This will then turn the Bill into an Act of Parliament and it will formally put the legislation onto the UK's statute book.
New Rwanda treaty
As part of his efforts to get around last year's Supreme Court ruling that the Rwanda scheme is unlawful, the PM has also updated a treaty with Kigali.
It is meant to prevent anyone sent to Rwanda from subsequently being transferred to a country where they could be at risk, a principle known as non-refoulement.
Parliament must ratify the treaty as well as the Bill, but this will be a more straightforward process because MPs cannot table amendments to treaties.
Yet, in a sign of the opposition the plan is expected to face in the upper chamber, peers have said the agreement should not be formally approved until safeguards against refoulement are complete.
The Lords International Agreements Committee (IAC) warned that 'further legal and practical steps are required' which will take time to implement.
Passage of Rwandan law
One of the IAC's key points was the Rwandan parliament has yet to pass a new asylum law in order to enact the commitments it has made to prevent refoulement in the updated treaty.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame recently appeared to express frustration at the length of time it is taking to get the asylum scheme up and running.
Asked about the current political and legal obstacles around the UK's deal with his country, Mr Kagame told the BBC it is 'not Rwanda's problem'.
'Ask the UK, it is the UK's problem, not Rwanda's problem', he added.
The Rwandan President also suggested he could return money to the UK if no asylum seekers are sent to his country.
Britain has already committed a total of £290million to Kigali as part of the scheme.
Further legal challenges
The Rwanda Bill is designed to exclude most grounds for individuals to appeal against a decision to transfer them to Rwanda in the UK’s domestic courts.
But it does not do is prevent claimants from going to the European Court of Human Rights, which would be bound by neither the Bill nor the treaty.
A planned inaugral migrant deportation flight to Rwanda was dramatically halted at the 11th hour in June 2022 when the ECHR issued an urgent 'Rule 39' order.
This prevented the removal of a person to Rwanda, with a Strasbourg judge saying they should not be deported until after a final decision had been made by the UK courts.
No migrant flights from the UK to Africa have since taken place, despite taxpayers having already handed over millions of pounds to Kigali.
'Pyjama injunctions'
The 'Rule 39' order issued by the ECHR in June 2022 has led to fears that similar 'pyjama injunctions' - named as such due to their often late-night nature - could yet be used to block further migrant flights.
Mr Sunak has vowed he would be prepared to ignore future Rule 39 orders but it is unclear what the consequences of this would be in practice.
The Government has set out draft guidance for civil servants advising that it is their 'responsibility' to implement ministerial decisions and disregard such injunctions. By Greg Heffer, Political Correspondent, Mailonline
• Besigye and Bobi Wine, a former pop star whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, say that security forces are surrounding their homes and preventing them from leaving.
• Two two government critics have asked Ugandans to go ahead with the planned protest on Thursday to demand the government to fix dilapidated roads.
President William Ruto will today come face to face with regional leaders in Kampala, Uganda, in the wake of deteriorating relations with the neighbouring countries in recent months.
Ruto will be in the neighbouring country to attend the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) Heads of States’ meeting to discuss the conflict between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu over Ethiopia’s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state.
During his two-day visit, he will also attend the 19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit (NAM) that started on Monday.
Ruto will come face to face with Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, Somalia’s Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Felix Tshisekedi or their representatives.
The meetings come at a time Nairobi has been caught in diplomatic spats with Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sudan, DRC and Somalia over one reason or the other.
The Igad meeting will discuss the conflict between Addis Ababa and Somalia.
Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi who is in Kampala confirmed that Ruto will grace the meeting of heads of states tomorrow.
“President William Ruto is expected to join the summit at the Heads of State and government level on Friday,” said Mudavadi in a statement released by his communications team.
Ruto who has been using senior government officials such as Mudavadi to calm diplomatic storms ignited by the actions of his administration, will meet his counterparts who have accused his government of unfair play in trading matters regionally.
For instance, he will meet Museveni over the botched oil deal that saw Kampala sue Nairobi at the Arusha based East African Court of Justice.
East African Community and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza last week confirmed the plans for high-level talks between Ruto and Museveni.
She said the purpose of the meeting is for the two leaders to diplomatically iron out the tiffs and thaw relations.
“There is a scheduled meeting between the two presidents to discuss the impasse and Kenya will also seek to explain her position during the next East Africa Community Heads of States Summit,” said Malonza.
The NAM summit is held every few years, usually in a different continent. The last meeting was held in Baku, Azerbaijan last year. Igad has organised a meeting in Kampala tomorrow in a bid to solve the diplomatic war between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu over a deal that makes Ethiopia recognise Somaliland as a sovereign state.
However, the Kampala meeting might not achieve its purpose following boycotts from Ethiopia and Sudan respectively.
Sudan has suspended its involvement in mediation efforts. Igad had offered to mediate between the heads of the Sudanese army and the Rapid Forces (RSF), including hosting a meeting – to which both men had agreed.
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that dealings with Igad were suspended after the regional group added Sudan to the agenda of a meeting scheduled for 18 January in Kampala, Uganda, and invited RSF leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, to attend.
Hemedti recently emerged from months under cover to visit several African countries such as Kenya and meet Sudanese pro-democracy political figures, a move that saw Khartoum recall its Nairobi ambassador.
Kenya Kwanza administration has brewed numerous diplomatic tiffs with neighbouring countries raising concerns over Ruto’s foreign policy and engagement with its foremost neighbours.
Mudavadi was on Monday evening forced to reach out to Tanzania for swift resolution of a diplomatic dispute over Dar es Salaam’s ban of passenger flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam before rescinding the decision.
“We have jointly agreed that our respective civil aviation authorities will work together to have the matter resolved amicably within the next three days. There should therefore be no cause for alarm,” said Mudavadi after discussions with his Tanzanian counterpart January Makamba.
In its recent diplomatic spat with DRC, Kenya was forced to “strongly disassociate” itself from a Congolese opposition figures who forged an alliance with rebels in Nairobi, spurring a diplomatic row with Kinshasa. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would investigate the political-military alliance after the DRC recalled its ambassador in protest.
President William Ruto will today come face to face with regional leaders in Kampala, Uganda, in the wake of deteriorating relations with the neighbouring countries in recent months.
Ruto will be in the neighbouring country to attend the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) Heads of States’ meeting to discuss the conflict between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu over Ethiopia’s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state.
During his two-day visit, he will also attend the 19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit (NAM) that started on Monday.
Ruto will come face to face with Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, Somalia’s Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Felix Tshisekedi or their representatives.
The meetings come at a time Nairobi has been caught in diplomatic spats with Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sudan, DRC and Somalia over one reason or the other.
The Igad meeting will discuss the conflict between Addis Ababa and Somalia.
Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi who is in Kampala confirmed that Ruto will grace the meeting of heads of states tomorrow.
“President William Ruto is expected to join the summit at the Heads of State and government level on Friday,” said Mudavadi in a statement released by his communications team.
Ruto who has been using senior government officials such as Mudavadi to calm diplomatic storms ignited by the actions of his administration, will meet his counterparts who have accused his government of unfair play in trading matters regionally.
For instance, he will meet Museveni over the botched oil deal that saw Kampala sue Nairobi at the Arusha based East African Court of Justice.
East African Community and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza last week confirmed the plans for high-level talks between Ruto and Museveni.
She said the purpose of the meeting is for the two leaders to diplomatically iron out the tiffs and thaw relations.
“There is a scheduled meeting between the two presidents to discuss the impasse and Kenya will also seek to explain her position during the next East Africa Community Heads of States Summit,” said Malonza.
The NAM summit is held every few years, usually in a different continent. The last meeting was held in Baku, Azerbaijan last year. Igad has organised a meeting in Kampala tomorrow in a bid to solve the diplomatic war between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu over a deal that makes Ethiopia recognise Somaliland as a sovereign state.
However, the Kampala meeting might not achieve its purpose following boycotts from Ethiopia and Sudan respectively.
Sudan has suspended its involvement in mediation efforts. Igad had offered to mediate between the heads of the Sudanese army and the Rapid Forces (RSF), including hosting a meeting – to which both men had agreed.
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that dealings with Igad were suspended after the regional group added Sudan to the agenda of a meeting scheduled for 18 January in Kampala, Uganda, and invited RSF leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, to attend.
Hemedti recently emerged from months under cover to visit several African countries such as Kenya and meet Sudanese pro-democracy political figures, a move that saw Khartoum recall its Nairobi ambassador.
Kenya Kwanza administration has brewed numerous diplomatic tiffs with neighbouring countries raising concerns over Ruto’s foreign policy and engagement with its foremost neighbours.
Mudavadi was on Monday evening forced to reach out to Tanzania for swift resolution of a diplomatic dispute over Dar es Salaam’s ban of passenger flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam before rescinding the decision.
“We have jointly agreed that our respective civil aviation authorities will work together to have the matter resolved amicably within the next three days. There should therefore be no cause for alarm,” said Mudavadi after discussions with his Tanzanian counterpart January Makamba.
In its recent diplomatic spat with DRC, Kenya was forced to “strongly disassociate” itself from a Congolese opposition figures who forged an alliance with rebels in Nairobi, spurring a diplomatic row with Kinshasa. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would investigate the political-military alliance after the DRC recalled its ambassador in protest.
President William Ruto will today come face to face with regional leaders in Kampala, Uganda, in the wake of deteriorating relations with the neighbouring countries in recent months.
Ruto will be in the neighbouring country to attend the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) Heads of States’ meeting to discuss the conflict between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu over Ethiopia’s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state.
During his two-day visit, he will also attend the 19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit (NAM) that started on Monday.
Ruto will come face to face with Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, Somalia’s Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Felix Tshisekedi or their representatives.
The meetings come at a time Nairobi has been caught in diplomatic spats with Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sudan, DRC and Somalia over one reason or the other.
The Igad meeting will discuss the conflict between Addis Ababa and Somalia.
Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi who is in Kampala confirmed that Ruto will grace the meeting of heads of states tomorrow.
“President William Ruto is expected to join the summit at the Heads of State and government level on Friday,” said Mudavadi in a statement released by his communications team.
Ruto who has been using senior government officials such as Mudavadi to calm diplomatic storms ignited by the actions of his administration, will meet his counterparts who have accused his government of unfair play in trading matters regionally.
For instance, he will meet Museveni over the botched oil deal that saw Kampala sue Nairobi at the Arusha based East African Court of Justice.
East African Community and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza last week confirmed the plans for high-level talks between Ruto and Museveni.
She said the purpose of the meeting is for the two leaders to diplomatically iron out the tiffs and thaw relations.
“There is a scheduled meeting between the two presidents to discuss the impasse and Kenya will also seek to explain her position during the next East Africa Community Heads of States Summit,” said Malonza.
The NAM summit is held every few years, usually in a different continent. The last meeting was held in Baku, Azerbaijan last year. Igad has organised a meeting in Kampala tomorrow in a bid to solve the diplomatic war between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu over a deal that makes Ethiopia recognise Somaliland as a sovereign state.
However, the Kampala meeting might not achieve its purpose following boycotts from Ethiopia and Sudan respectively.
Sudan has suspended its involvement in mediation efforts. Igad had offered to mediate between the heads of the Sudanese army and the Rapid Forces (RSF), including hosting a meeting – to which both men had agreed.
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that dealings with Igad were suspended after the regional group added Sudan to the agenda of a meeting scheduled for 18 January in Kampala, Uganda, and invited RSF leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, to attend.
Hemedti recently emerged from months under cover to visit several African countries such as Kenya and meet Sudanese pro-democracy political figures, a move that saw Khartoum recall its Nairobi ambassador.
Kenya Kwanza administration has brewed numerous diplomatic tiffs with neighbouring countries raising concerns over Ruto’s foreign policy and engagement with its foremost neighbours.
Mudavadi was on Monday evening forced to reach out to Tanzania for swift resolution of a diplomatic dispute over Dar es Salaam’s ban of passenger flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam before rescinding the decision.
“We have jointly agreed that our respective civil aviation authorities will work together to have the matter resolved amicably within the next three days. There should therefore be no cause for alarm,” said Mudavadi after discussions with his Tanzanian counterpart January Makamba.
In its recent diplomatic spat with DRC, Kenya was forced to “strongly disassociate” itself from a Congolese opposition figures who forged an alliance with rebels in Nairobi, spurring a diplomatic row with Kinshasa. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would investigate the political-military alliance after the DRC recalled its ambassador in protest. By Barack Oduor, People Daily
Image: MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit
Malawi-born Moffat Nyirenda clinches post amid “very strong field of applicants”
Moffat Nyirenda has been appointed director of a leading UK-supported medical research centre in Uganda.
Malawi-born Nyirenda will take the reins at the Uganda Research Unit, which is supported by the UK’s Medical Research Council, the Uganda Virus Research Institute and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, on 1 April, taking over from Pontiano Kaleebu, who has led the unit for the past 13 years.
The LSHTM has been managing the Entebbe-based unit since 2018, three decades after its establishment as a research unit of the MRC focusing on HIV. Since then, its remit has grown to include other diseases.
Calm authority
Nyirenda, who is currently deputy director, leads the unit’s non-communicable diseases research theme. His work has included studies on diabetes, obesity and hypertension.
Liam Smeeth, director of the LSHTM, said Nyirenda beat “a very strong field of applicants” to secure the post. He “impressed us with his vision for the unit, his calm authority and obvious quality as a scientific leader”, Smeeth said on 15 January.
Nyirenda said he was “deeply honoured and excited” that he would be leading the unit. “I look forward to contributing to its further growth, creating new opportunities, strengthening our research themes in strategic areas, forging international collaborations and partnerships and maximising the capacity to translate our research,” he said.
President Paul Kagame has offered to pay Britain back if the Rwanda migrant deportation deal falls through.
The Home Office has paid the Rwandan Government some £240million despite being engulfed in Parliamentary and legal battles to get the first flight off the ground.
Asked if the scheme was working, the President of Rwanda said: "Ask the UK. It's the UK's problem, not Rwanda's problem.
"The money is going to be used on those people who will come. If they don't come, we can return the money."
The offer of a refund is a fresh headache for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as attempts to guide his Rwanda Bill through Parliament.
Conservative rebels, who are urging Mr Sunak to toughen up his Rwanda Bill, immediately seized on President Kagame's warning over repeated delays.
A Tory rebel source said: "As Michael Tomlinson explained this morning, the Government's plan is going to need hundreds of judges to clear thousands of claims which will take months and months at a bare minimum.
"Rwanda want a plan that works quickly, not one that satisfies the whims of our Attorney General.
"The government should therefore back our plan. At this rate it will be Labour having to pay back the money."
Rwanda could walk away from its multi-million pound deal with the UK and keep the money "without accepting a single asylum seeker", MPs heard last month.
Home Office permanent secretary, Sir Matthew Rycroft, told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) there was a "break clause" included in the memorandum of understanding the UK and Rwanda signed in April 2022 to seal the deal, which allows either government to walk away from it with three months' notice.
He confirmed that if the UK instigates the break clause, Rwanda keeps the money already paid but added: "There is a presumption that the UK Government will want to continue with the partnership, bearing in mind its importance in the overall efforts to stop the boats."
If Rwanda ends the agreement, Sir Matthew said the country's government would have to repay the money "proportionately".
Under the Government's proposals, illegal migrants who cross the Channel on small boats could be flown out to Rwanda to have any asylum claims processed there rather than being allowed to apply to settle in the UK while they are still on British soil.
The legislation, plus a treaty signed with Rwanda's leaders in its capital Kigali, is intended to make the measures legally watertight following a court ruling blocking deporations.
But Tory rebels are concerned migrants could still lodge individual appeals against deportation orders.
And they are concerned European judges will still be able to ground flights to Kigali.
Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick urged MPs to "find a way through" the "entirely foreseeable" prospect of European judges challenging the Rwanda plan.
He told the Commons during Wednesday's debate: "What we're discussing here is whether or not we believe it is appropriate for a foreign judge in an international court to impose a late night judgment, often without the United Kingdom being able to give its own arguments or to hear the reasons for that judgment, whether we think that really accords with the rule of law.
"And, in particular in relation to this policy, whether we're willing to see the same thing happen again that did in the summer of 2022 whereby a judge did just that, grounded the flight, prevented the policy, led to months, indeed years of legal action and tens of thousands of illegal migrants breaking into our country, costing our taxpayers billions of pounds, imperilling lives in the Channel and perpetuating this challenge for years to come."
Mr Jenrick added: "I think as night follows day if we don't make changes in this respect, we'll find ourselves in a few months' time in exactly the same position that (Priti Patel) as home secretary was in the summer of 2022, whereby the Strasbourg court will issue one, potentially many rule 39 interim measures, the decision will fall to a minister ... about what to do, the courts will be involved and we'll find ourselves in a very difficult, indeed intractable situation.
"It is, as I've said before, a bit like pulling the pin out of a grenade but not being prepared to throw it. Setting this scheme in train without knowing what you would do when this happens - it's entirely foreseeable, let's find a way through this challenge."
Mr Jenrick told the Government he was "here to help" with his amendment aimed at safeguarding against Rule 39 orders.
The Tory former immigration minister told MPs: "We have the power to fix this and we have the responsibility. So let's use the opportunity we have today with the amendment that we have brought forward to resolve this.
"Or else we will be here in two months' time, the Strasbourg court will impose a Rule 39, the Government will be scrambling around how to resolve this, and the Government will have no-one else to blame.
"I am here to help the Government to ensure this policy works, because I like everyone, at least on this side of the House, believes passionately that we have to make this policy work and to stop the boats.
"So I strongly encourage the Prime Minister to support the amendment in my name, and that of many others, and encourage everyone else on all sides of this House who share my determination to fix this problem to do exactly the same." By Michael Knowles, Daily Express
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