Rwanda bill - live: Sunak doubles down on refusal to help Afghan heroes as no guarantee of fights by spring
Commons leader confirms Rwanda bill will return to the House of Commons on Monday
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Rishi Sunak has doubled down on his refusal to exempt Afghan heroes who served with British forces from being deported to Rwanda.
A No 10 spokesman said on Wednesday that the government would not be making any concessions on the Rwanda bill after the House of Lords last night voted in favour of the move.
The defiant upper chamber refused to cave to ministers’ demands and sent the flagship Rwanda plan back to the Commons.
Peers are also demanding the set up of a monitoring committee to assess whether Rwanda is safe before the government sends asylum seekers there.
Downing Street also on Thursday was unable to recommit to the prime minister’s pledge to get flights to Rwanda off the ground by the spring.
The spokesman said: “I’m not going to get ahead of the bill passing, which obviously we’ve seen again last night has continued to be held up.
“We’re working at pace to ensure these flights leave as soon as possible. It’s now incumbent on the Lords to pass this Bill such that we can trigger the final planning phases and ultimately stop the boats.”
Shapps: Government will do ‘whatever we need to’ to get flights off to Rwanda
The government will do “whatever we need to do” to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda, Grant Shapps has said in response to the suggestion the RAF could be used for deportation flights.
Asked whether he would allow RAF aircraft to be used, the defence secretary told Sky News: “We will do whatever we need to do to make sure that we can get these flights off, whether they are charter flights or other kinds of flights.”
He added that which aircraft took asylum seekers to Rwanda was a “secondary issue”.
No Downing Street flea problem after ‘vast’ expense of new carpets, says Hunt
Jeremy Hunt tackled the flea problem Liz Truss highlighted in Downing Street by replacing the carpets at “vast” personal expense.
In her book 10 Years To Save The West, Ms Truss – who lived in the more spacious No 11 flat rather than the accommodation above No 10 – said “the place was infested with fleas”, possibly due to Boris Johnson’s dog Dilyn although “there was no conclusive evidence”.
Ms Truss said “the entire place had to be sprayed with flea killer” and “I spent several weeks itching”.
At an event in Washington DC, Mr Hunt confirmed he had taken a more drastic, and expensive, approach.
“I actually live in the flat that Liz Truss lived in and Boris Johnson lived in before that,” he said.
“She was only there for less than 50 days. I had a little bit longer, when I knew I was going to be moving in there, and I replaced all the carpets at my own expense – vast expense because it had to be a security-cleared company that did it.
“So I’m pleased to say that the Hunt family has not had the flea problem.”
The Rwanda bill explained: What is the controversial policy and what happens next?
Ministers have designed legislation to get round legal objections and say flights could take off within weeks – but a potential stumbling block remains.
Jane Dalton explains:
The Rwanda bill explained: What is the controversial policy and what happens next?
Ministers have designed legislation to get round legal objections and say flights could take off within weeks – but a potential stumbling block remains
ICYMI: Rishi Sunak forces through vote for total ban on smoking for those born after 2009
Britain is on course to ban smoking for an entire generation after Rishi Sunak forced through a historic vote in the House of Commons.
The prime minister relied on Labour votes to see off opponents on his own benches, led by the former PM Liz Truss, winning by 383 votes to 67.
Full report:
Rishi Sunak forces through vote for total ban on smoking for a generation
Business secretary Kemi Badenoch was among those who defied the prime minister’s call for his cabinet to back the plan
Jeremy Hunt refuses to say ‘anything negative’ about Liz Truss
Jeremy Hunt refuses to say ‘anything negative’ about Liz Truss
Jeremy Hunt refused to say "anything negative" about Liz Truss as she "appointed him as chancellor." When asked by Sky News if he thought the former prime minister, who has been critical of government policy, is currently being helpful for the Conservative Party, the cabinet minister would not cast aspersions on his colleague. "I think Liz will be the first to accept that during her time as prime minister, mistakes were made," Mr Hunt said of Ms Truss's 49 days in office, in which the pound hit a 37-year low against the dollar. "She appointed me as chancellor, so I don't want to say anything negative about Liz Truss," he added.
Defiant Lords back Afghan heroes and refuse to pass Sunak’s plan to deport asylum seekers
A defiant House of Lords has refused to cave to ministers and sent Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda plan back to the Commons – with two key demands.
Peers voted on Wednesday night in favour of an amendment to the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill that would exempt Afghan heroes who supported UK troops overseas from being deported.
They also insisted on a monitoring committee to assess whether Rwanda is safe before the government sends asylum seekers there.
Defiant Lords back Afghan heroes and refuse to pass Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill
Downing Street has refused any concessions and insists flights will take off by summer
‘Billionaire prime minister smearing a working class woman,’ Starmer says
Sir Keir Starmer has accused “billionaires” Rishi Sunak and Tory peer Lord Ashcroft of “smearing a working class woman” Angela Rayner, Archie Mitchell reports.
The pair have repeatedly criticised Ms Rayner over the sale of her former council house in 2015, suggesting she may have failed to pay due capital gains tax or given false information about her address.
After Mr Sunak referenced the investigation into Ms Rayner at PMQs, Sir Keir said: “We’ve got a billionaire prime minister and a billionaire colleague both of whose families have used schemes to avoid millions of pounds in tax smearing a working class woman.”
A Tory MP is being investigated by the party following claims he misused campaign funds
Mark Menzies is facing allegations he made a late-night call to a 78-year-old aide asking for help because he had been locked up by “bad people” demanding thousands of pounds for his release.
The Fylde MP disputes the allegations reported by The Times but the Conservative Party is looking into the claims and taking them seriously.
According to the newspaper, £14,000 given by donors for use on Tory campaign activities was transferred to Mr Menzies’ personal bank accounts and used for private medical expenses.
The MP, who is one of Rishi Sunak’s trade envoys, is also said to have called his 78-year-old former campaign manager at 3.15am one morning in December, claiming he was locked in a flat and needed £5,000 as a matter of “life and death”.
The sum, which rose to £6,500, was eventually paid by his office manager from her personal bank account and subsequently reimbursed from funds raised from donors in an account named Fylde Westminster Group, it is alleged.
According to a source close to Mr Menzies, the MP had met a man on an online dating website and gone to the man’s flat, before subsequently going with another man to a second address where he continued drinking. He was sick at one point and several people at the address demanded £5,000, claiming it was for cleaning up and other expenses.
Watch: Sunak says Tories have plan six times in 40 seconds
Rishi Sunak says Tories have ‘plan’ six times in 40-second interview
Rishi Sunak mentioned how his party’s “plan” is working six times in just a 40-second interview. The prime minister appeared on Sky News on Wednesday (17 April) after it was announced inflation in the UK had fallen to 3.2 percent, down from 3.4 percent in March. Mr Sunak said: “Our plan is working and our simple message would be if we stick to that plan, people can have confidence there’s a brighter future.” He later said inflation has fallen “because we have a plan, and that plan is working”. Before adding: “We have to stick to that plan if we all want the brighter future we want to see and that’s why our plan is so important.”
Home Secretary says Labour ‘terrified’ Rwanda scheme will work
Home secretary James Cleverly insisted that Labour are desperate to delay or disrupt Rwanda bill in a statement issued after it was sent back to the Commons again.
James Cleverly said in a statement: “Terrified that the Rwanda scheme will work, and desperate to delay or disrupt over a hundred votes about stopping the boats, Labour have acted again to block the passage of the Rwanda Bill.
“It’s been another politically cynical effort by them, who have no alternative deterrent and no plan to tackle illegal migration, to frustrate the only solution on offer.”
He added that Labour is “uncomfortable with tackling immigration” which is why the party will “clearly stop at nothing to stop the planes”.
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