LORDS DEFY WILL OF THE PEOPLE OVER RWANDA BILL... AGAIN!

MEDDLING Lords stand accused of being more interested in halting migrant flights than deadly Channel crossings as they once again blocked the Rwanda Bill last night.

- Michael Knowles & Steph Spyro

'It's another politically cynical effort by Labour, who have no plan to tackle illegal migration'

Unelected peers voted to stop the legislation for a fourth time despite it being approved by MPs.

Labour, Lib Dem and crossbench peers wanted two more changes but ministers refused to concede ground.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said: "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.

"We want to break the criminal people-smuggling gangs and stop the boats. Labour, uncomfortable with tackling immigration, will clearly stop at nothing to stop the planes." The Bill is intended to revive Rishi Sunak's flagship policy of sending illegal migrants to the East African country to have asylum claims processed there. The Government hopes that prospect will deter thousands from crossing to the UK in boats.

The Lords' stance means the legislation will not be passed by Parliament until Monday at the earliest. Ministers still believe the first deportation flights can take off this spring despite the battle.

Michael Tomlinson, illegal migration minister, said: "We simply cannot stand by and allow people smugglers to control who enters our country and to see more lives being lost at sea. We have an obligation to the public and to those who are being exploited by criminal gangs to stop this vile trade." Mr Tomlinson told MPs there were two types of changes demanded by peers: "Unnecessary" ones and "wrecking amendments".