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Peers defy government pressure and push Rwanda Bill to next week
The Elizabeth Tower, known as Big Ben, at Westminster Palace in London, January 23, 2023

PEERS once again defied government pressure to rush through the Rwanda deportation Bill, pushing the legislation’s passage back to next week.

The House of Lords once again passed amendments to the Bill, demanding independent monitoring of Rwanda’s safety for refugees and exemption from deportation for those who had worked for the British military, including in Afghanistan.

At present the Bill unilaterally declares Rwanda “safe” in defiance of a Supreme Court judgment that it isn’t, and gives ministers the power to ignore emergency injunctions to prevent deportations.

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