‘Stop the boats’ is an idle refrain – it is time for the Tories to stop the boasts…

The government’s Rwanda bill was cleared by the House of Lords just hours before another tragedy in the Channel. At every stage, it has proven to be a disgrace to our parliament, says Lord Alex Carlile

Footage from BBC News shows migrants in a small boat at Dunkirk on Tuesday morning after the French coast guard announced five people had died while trying to cross the Channel in a small dinghy (BBC)

Monday 22 April was a memorable day in the House of Lords – though not in a good way.

It was the final instalment of debates on the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, which has now been passed as an act. Yes, the debates followed the usual level of courtesy between colleagues holding deeply opposed views, a style that marks out the Lords as one of the world’s best debating chambers. The House did its job of trying to improve the bill to the standard of clarity and legality expected of our parliament.

Certainly, we tried. However, we succumbed eventually to a convention – that our House ultimately does not defy the majority in the Commons.