Lee Anderson has said he backed Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda Bill after being teased by Labour MPs in the ‘no’ lobby ahead of the vote.
Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda deportation legislation survived a right-wing Conservative rebellion after would-be rebels announced they would not vote down an unchanged Bill.
The Prime Minister saw the Safety of Rwanda Bill pass its third reading in the House of Commons by a majority of 44 on Wednesday evening.
More than 60 Tory MPs had earlier supported an amendment designed to toughen the draft law, voting for a proposal designed to allow UK ministers to ignore emergency injunctions by European judges attempting to stop asylum seeker deportation flights to east Africa from taking off.
But Downing Street went into the third reading vote knowing it had seen off a potentially damaging defeat after the majority of rebels signalled they would back it even without any amendments being accepted.
The Bill will now move to the House of Lords where it is expected to face serious opposition.
Speaking after an 11th hour meeting of right-wing Conservatives in Parliament, a rebel source told reporters: “The majority of those people who spoke in the room have decided to back the Bill at third reading.
“A small number of colleagues will vote ‘No’ on a point of principle.”
One such MP was Lee Anderson, who joined the ‘no’ lobby ahead of the vote but ended up changing his mind after being teased by Labour MPs.
Here’s what the Ashfield MP had to say about the incident:
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