MPs voted to overturn an amendment to the Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill that would have prevented victims of modern slavery from being deported to East Africa.
The Commons and Lords are currently locked in a battle of parliamentary ping-pong over the legislation, which seeks to compel judges to regard Rwanda as safe in a bid to clear the way to send asylum seekers who cross the Channel in small boats on a one-way flight to the country.
Among the amendments overturned by MPs on Monday were proposals to ensure the Bill has “due regard” for domestic and international law and that Rwanda is only regarded as safe for as long as the provisions of the UK’s treaty with that country are in place.
The government also rejected calls to exempt victims of modern slavery from the Rwanda scheme, instead proposing its own amendment that would provide an annual report on the impact of the policy on victims, which then passed.
“Ridiculous”
During Monday’s debate, veteran Conservative backbencher Sir Bill Cash urged peers to “calm down” and described their amendments as “ridiculous”.
Home Office minister Michael Tomlinson stressed that the “elected” Commons had voted in favour of an unamended Bill and called on MPs to “stand with the Government in upholding the will of the House of Commons”.
But Labour’s shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said the Rwanda scheme was “doomed to fail” and described the policy as “fundamentally unworkable, unaffordable and unlawful”.
Deterrent
The ongoing standoff between the two Houses of Parliament continues to delay flights deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda, seen by the Government as a vital deterrent to the small boats crossing the Channel.
The Government has previously said it wanted to get flights off the ground in the spring, but on Monday the Prime Minister’s official spokesman would only say it was committed to implementing the policy “as soon as possible”.
Monday’s debate took place the day after the busiest day so far this year for Channel crossings, with more than 500 migrants arriving in the UK.
The latest crossings took the provisional total for the year so far to 6,265 – 28 per cent higher than this time last year (4,899) and 7 per cent higher than the 5,828 recorded at this point in 2022.
PA news agency analysis of the figures suggests 75,629 migrants have made the journey since then home secretary Dame Priti Patel signed what she called a “world first” agreement in Rwanda’s capital Kigali on April 14 2022.
Full list of MPs who voted down Lords Amendment 9
im Afolami (Conservative – Hitchin and Harpenden)
Adam Afriyie (Conservative – Windsor)
Nickie Aiken (Conservative – Cities of London and Westminster)
Peter Aldous (Conservative – Waveney)
Stuart Anderson (Conservative – Wolverhampton South West) (Proxy vote cast by Marcus Jones)
Stuart Andrew (Conservative – Pudsey)
Caroline Ansell (Conservative – Eastbourne)
Edward Argar (Conservative – Charnwood)
Sarah Atherton (Conservative – Wrexham)
Victoria Atkins (Conservative – Louth and Horncastle)
Gareth Bacon (Conservative – Orpington)
Richard Bacon (Conservative – South Norfolk)
Kemi Badenoch (Conservative – Saffron Walden)
Shaun Bailey (Conservative – West Bromwich West)
Siobhan Baillie (Conservative – Stroud)
Duncan Baker (Conservative – North Norfolk)
Steve Baker (Conservative – Wycombe)
Harriett Baldwin (Conservative – West Worcestershire)
Steve Barclay (Conservative – North East Cambridgeshire)
John Baron (Conservative – Basildon and Billericay)
Simon Baynes (Conservative – Clwyd South)
Aaron Bell (Conservative – Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Paul Beresford (Conservative – Mole Valley)
Jake Berry (Conservative – Rossendale and Darwen)
Saqib Bhatti (Conservative – Meriden)
Bob Blackman (Conservative – Harrow East)
Peter Bottomley (Conservative – Worthing West)
Andrew Bowie (Conservative – West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Ben Bradley (Conservative – Mansfield)
Karen Bradley (Conservative – Staffordshire Moorlands)
Graham Brady (Conservative – Altrincham and Sale West)
Jack Brereton (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent South)
Steve Brine (Conservative – Winchester)
Paul Bristow (Conservative – Peterborough)
Sara Britcliffe (Conservative – Hyndburn)
Anthony Browne (Conservative – South Cambridgeshire)
Fiona Bruce (Conservative – Congleton)
Felicity Buchan (Conservative – Kensington)
Robert Buckland (Conservative – South Swindon)
Alex Burghart (Conservative – Brentwood and Ongar)
Conor Burns (Conservative – Bournemouth West)
Rob Butler (Conservative – Aylesbury)
Alun Cairns (Conservative – Vale of Glamorgan)
Lisa Cameron (Conservative – East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party – East Londonderry)
Andy Carter (Conservative – Warrington South)
James Cartlidge (Conservative – South Suffolk)
William Cash (Conservative – Stone)
Miriam Cates (Conservative – Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Maria Caulfield (Conservative – Lewes)
Alex Chalk (Conservative – Cheltenham)
Rehman Chishti (Conservative – Gillingham and Rainham)
Jo Churchill (Conservative – Bury St Edmunds)
Greg Clark (Conservative – Tunbridge Wells)
Simon Clarke (Conservative – Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
Theo Clarke (Conservative – Stafford)
Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative – Bassetlaw)
Chris Clarkson (Conservative – Heywood and Middleton)
James Cleverly (Conservative – Braintree)
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative – The Cotswolds)
Thérèse Coffey (Conservative – Suffolk Coastal)
Elliot Colburn (Conservative – Carshalton and Wallington)
Damian Collins (Conservative – Folkestone and Hythe)
Alberto Costa (Conservative – South Leicestershire)
Robert Courts (Conservative – Witney)
Claire Coutinho (Conservative – East Surrey)
Geoffrey Cox (Conservative – Torridge and West Devon)
Stephen Crabb (Conservative – Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Virginia Crosbie (Conservative – Ynys Môn)
Tracey Crouch (Conservative – Chatham and Aylesford)
James Daly (Conservative – Bury North)
David T C Davies (Conservative – Monmouth)
James Davies (Conservative – Vale of Clwyd)
Gareth Davies (Conservative – Grantham and Stamford)
Mims Davies (Conservative – Mid Sussex)
Philip Davies (Conservative – Shipley)
David Davis (Conservative – Haltemprice and Howden)
Dehenna Davison (Conservative – Bishop Auckland)
Caroline Dinenage (Conservative – Gosport)
Sarah Dines (Conservative – Derbyshire Dales)
Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative – Huntingdon)
Leo Docherty (Conservative – Aldershot)
Michelle Donelan (Conservative – Chippenham)
Steve Double (Conservative – St Austell and Newquay)
Oliver Dowden (Conservative – Hertsmere)
Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative – Thurrock)
Flick Drummond (Conservative – Meon Valley)
James Duddridge (Conservative – Rochford and Southend East) (Proxy vote cast by Mark Francois)
Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative – Chingford and Woodford Green)
Philip Dunne (Conservative – Ludlow)
Mark Eastwood (Conservative – Dewsbury)
Ruth Edwards (Conservative – Rushcliffe)
Michael Ellis (Conservative – Northampton North)
Tobias Ellwood (Conservative – Bournemouth East)
George Eustice (Conservative – Camborne and Redruth)
Luke Evans (Conservative – Bosworth)
David Evennett (Conservative – Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Ben Everitt (Conservative – Milton Keynes North)
Michael Fabricant (Conservative – Lichfield)
Laura Farris (Conservative – Newbury)
Simon Fell (Conservative – Barrow and Furness)
Anna Firth (Conservative – Southend West)
Katherine Fletcher (Conservative – South Ribble)
Mark Fletcher (Conservative – Bolsover)
Nick Fletcher (Conservative – Don Valley)
Vicky Ford (Conservative – Chelmsford)
Kevin Foster (Conservative – Torbay)
Liam Fox (Conservative – North Somerset)
Mark Francois (Conservative – Rayleigh and Wickford)
Lucy Frazer (Conservative – South East Cambridgeshire)
George Freeman (Conservative – Mid Norfolk)
Mike Freer (Conservative – Finchley and Golders Green)
Louie French (Conservative – Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Richard Fuller (Conservative – North East Bedfordshire)
Marcus Fysh (Conservative – Yeovil)
Mark Garnier (Conservative – Wyre Forest)
Nusrat Ghani (Conservative – Wealden)
Nick Gibb (Conservative – Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Peter Gibson (Conservative – Darlington)
Jo Gideon (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent Central)
John Glen (Conservative – Salisbury)
Robert Goodwill (Conservative – Scarborough and Whitby)
Michael Gove (Conservative – Surrey Heath)
Richard Graham (Conservative – Gloucester)
Helen Grant (Conservative – Maidstone and The Weald)
James Gray (Conservative – North Wiltshire)
Chris Grayling (Conservative – Epsom and Ewell)
Chris Green (Conservative – Bolton West)
Damian Green (Conservative – Ashford)
Andrew Griffith (Conservative – Arundel and South Downs)
James Grundy (Conservative – Leigh)
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent North)
Luke Hall (Conservative – Thornbury and Yate)
Stephen Hammond (Conservative – Wimbledon)
Greg Hands (Conservative – Chelsea and Fulham)
Mark Harper (Conservative – Forest of Dean)
Rebecca Harris (Conservative – Castle Point)
Trudy Harrison (Conservative – Copeland)
Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative – Hastings and Rye)
Simon Hart (Conservative – Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
John Hayes (Conservative – South Holland and The Deepings)
Oliver Heald (Conservative – North East Hertfordshire)
James Heappey (Conservative – Wells)
Chris Heaton-Harris (Conservative – Daventry)
Gordon Henderson (Conservative – Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Darren Henry (Conservative – Broxtowe)
Antony Higginbotham (Conservative – Burnley)
Damian Hinds (Conservative – East Hampshire)
Simon Hoare (Conservative – North Dorset)
Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative – Thirsk and Malton)
Philip Hollobone (Conservative – Kettering)
Paul Holmes (Conservative – Eastleigh)
John Howell (Conservative – Henley) (Proxy vote cast by Marcus Jones)
Paul Howell (Conservative – Sedgefield)
Nigel Huddleston (Conservative – Mid Worcestershire)
Neil Hudson (Conservative – Penrith and The Border)
Eddie Hughes (Conservative – Walsall North)
Jane Hunt (Conservative – Loughborough)
Jeremy Hunt (Conservative – South West Surrey)
Tom Hunt (Conservative – Ipswich)
Alister Jack (Conservative – Dumfries and Galloway)
Sajid Javid (Conservative – Bromsgrove)
Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative – North East Hampshire)
Mark Jenkinson (Conservative – Workington)
Caroline Johnson (Conservative – Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Gareth Johnson (Conservative – Dartford)
David Johnston (Conservative – Wantage)
Andrew Jones (Conservative – Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Fay Jones (Conservative – Brecon and Radnorshire)
David Jones (Conservative – Clwyd West)
Marcus Jones (Conservative – Nuneaton)
Simon Jupp (Conservative – East Devon)
Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative – Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Gillian Keegan (Conservative – Chichester)
Greg Knight (Conservative – East Yorkshire)
Kate Kniveton (Conservative – Burton)
Danny Kruger (Conservative – Devizes)
John Lamont (Conservative – Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Robert Largan (Conservative – High Peak)
Pauline Latham (Conservative – Mid Derbyshire)
Andrea Leadsom (Conservative – South Northamptonshire)
Edward Leigh (Conservative – Gainsborough)
Ian Levy (Conservative – Blyth Valley)
Andrew Lewer (Conservative – Northampton South)
Brandon Lewis (Conservative – Great Yarmouth)
Julian Lewis (Conservative – New Forest East)
Chris Loder (Conservative – West Dorset)
Mark Logan (Conservative – Bolton North East)
Marco Longhi (Conservative – Dudley North)
Julia Lopez (Conservative – Hornchurch and Upminster)
Jonathan Lord (Conservative – Woking)
Tim Loughton (Conservative – East Worthing and Shoreham)
Craig Mackinlay (Conservative – South Thanet) (Proxy vote cast by John Redwood)
Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative – Truro and Falmouth)
Rachel Maclean (Conservative – Redditch)
Alan Mak (Conservative – Havant)
Kit Malthouse (Conservative – North West Hampshire)
Anthony Mangnall (Conservative – Totnes)
Scott Mann (Conservative – North Cornwall)
Julie Marson (Conservative – Hertford and Stortford)
Jerome Mayhew (Conservative – Broadland)
Paul Maynard (Conservative – Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Jason McCartney (Conservative – Colne Valley)
Karl McCartney (Conservative – Lincoln)
Stephen McPartland (Conservative – Stevenage)
Esther McVey (Conservative – Tatton)
Mark Menzies (Conservative – Fylde)
Johnny Mercer (Conservative – Plymouth, Moor View)
Huw Merriman (Conservative – Bexhill and Battle)
Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative – South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Robin Millar (Conservative – Aberconwy)
Maria Miller (Conservative – Basingstoke)
Amanda Milling (Conservative – Cannock Chase)
Nigel Mills (Conservative – Amber Valley)
Andrew Mitchell (Conservative – Sutton Coldfield)
Gagan Mohindra (Conservative – South West Hertfordshire)
Damien Moore (Conservative – Southport)
Robbie Moore (Conservative – Keighley)
Penny Mordaunt (Conservative – Portsmouth North)
Anne Marie Morris (Conservative – Newton Abbot)
David Morris (Conservative – Morecambe and Lunesdale)
James Morris (Conservative – Halesowen and Rowley Regis)
Joy Morrissey (Conservative – Beaconsfield)
Jill Mortimer (Conservative – Hartlepool)
Kieran Mullan (Conservative – Crewe and Nantwich)
Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative – Scunthorpe)
David Mundell (Conservative – Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Sheryll Murray (Conservative – South East Cornwall)
Andrew Murrison (Conservative – South West Wiltshire)
Lia Nici (Conservative – Great Grimsby)
Neil O’Brien (Conservative – Harborough)
Guy Opperman (Conservative – Hexham)
Priti Patel (Conservative – Witham)
Mark Pawsey (Conservative – Rugby)
John Penrose (Conservative – Weston-super-Mare)
Chris Philp (Conservative – Croydon South)
Rebecca Pow (Conservative – Taunton Deane)
Victoria Prentis (Conservative – Banbury)
Mark Pritchard (Conservative – The Wrekin)
Tom Pursglove (Conservative – Corby)
Jeremy Quin (Conservative – Horsham)
Will Quince (Conservative – Colchester)
Tom Randall (Conservative – Gedling)
John Redwood (Conservative – Wokingham)
Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative – North East Somerset)
Nicola Richards (Conservative – West Bromwich East)
Angela Richardson (Conservative – Guildford)
Laurence Robertson (Conservative – Tewkesbury)
Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party – Belfast East)
Mary Robinson (Conservative – Cheadle)
Andrew Rosindell (Conservative – Romford)
Douglas Ross (Conservative – Moray)
Lee Rowley (Conservative – North East Derbyshire)
Dean Russell (Conservative – Watford)
David Rutley (Conservative – Macclesfield)
Gary Sambrook (Conservative – Birmingham, Northfield)
Selaine Saxby (Conservative – North Devon)
Paul Scully (Conservative – Sutton and Cheam)
Bob Seely (Conservative – Isle of Wight)
Andrew Selous (Conservative – South West Bedfordshire)
Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party – Strangford)
Grant Shapps (Conservative – Welwyn Hatfield)
Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative – Elmet and Rothwell)
David Simmonds (Conservative – Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Chloe Smith (Conservative – Norwich North)
Greg Smith (Conservative – Buckingham)
Henry Smith (Conservative – Crawley)
Julian Smith (Conservative – Skipton and Ripon)
Royston Smith (Conservative – Southampton, Itchen)
Ben Spencer (Conservative – Runnymede and Weybridge)
Mark Spencer (Conservative – Sherwood)
Alexander Stafford (Conservative – Rother Valley)
Andrew Stephenson (Conservative – Pendle)
Jane Stevenson (Conservative – Wolverhampton North East)
John Stevenson (Conservative – Carlisle)
Iain Stewart (Conservative – Milton Keynes South)
Gary Streeter (Conservative – South West Devon)
Mel Stride (Conservative – Central Devon)
Graham Stuart (Conservative – Beverley and Holderness)
Julian Sturdy (Conservative – York Outer)
James Sunderland (Conservative – Bracknell)
Desmond Swayne (Conservative – New Forest West)
Robert Syms (Conservative – Poole)
Derek Thomas (Conservative – St Ives)
Maggie Throup (Conservative – Erewash)
Edward Timpson (Conservative – Eddisbury)
Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative – Rochester and Strood)
Justin Tomlinson (Conservative – North Swindon)
Michael Tomlinson (Conservative – Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Craig Tracey (Conservative – North Warwickshire)
Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Conservative – Berwick-upon-Tweed)
Laura Trott (Conservative – Sevenoaks)
Elizabeth Truss (Conservative – South West Norfolk)
Steve Tuckwell (Conservative – Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Tom Tugendhat (Conservative – Tonbridge and Malling)
Shailesh Vara (Conservative – North West Cambridgeshire)
Martin Vickers (Conservative – Cleethorpes)
Matt Vickers (Conservative – Stockton South)
Theresa Villiers (Conservative – Chipping Barnet)
Robin Walker (Conservative – Worcester)
Charles Walker (Conservative – Broxbourne)
Ben Wallace (Conservative – Wyre and Preston North)
Jamie Wallis (Conservative – Bridgend)
Matt Warman (Conservative – Boston and Skegness)
Giles Watling (Conservative – Clacton)
Suzanne Webb (Conservative – Stourbridge)
Helen Whately (Conservative – Faversham and Mid Kent)
Heather Wheeler (Conservative – South Derbyshire)
Craig Whittaker (Conservative – Calder Valley)
John Whittingdale (Conservative – Maldon)
Bill Wiggin (Conservative – North Herefordshire)
James Wild (Conservative – North West Norfolk)
Craig Williams (Conservative – Montgomeryshire)
Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party – East Antrim)
Jeremy Wright (Conservative – Kenilworth and Southam)
Related: ‘Maybe you’ll be next’: Israeli ambassador reacts to Iran attack