Rishi Sunak press conference: Prime Minister to address the nation from No10 after admitting ‘patience has worn thin’
Rishi Sunak will address the nation later today in a surprise press conference from Downing street, where he will discuss the Government’s Rwanda plan.
Proposed legislation that could see flights finally get in the air will be discussed by MPs and peers tonight.
Last week, the plans were unexpectedly delayed by peers in the House of Lords, who passed two new amendments on Wednesday.
The PM promised that both Houses would sit as late into the night as required, in order to agree a version of the bill to pass into law.
It comes after the Prime Minister told GB News that his “patience has worn thin” regarding delays to the deportation scheme.
He said: “On Rwanda, the very simple thing here is that repeatedly, everyone has tried to block us from getting this bill through. And yet again, you saw it this week. You saw Labour peers blocking us again, and that’s enormously frustrating. Everyone’s patience on this has run thin, mine certainly has.
“So our intention now is to get this done on Monday. No more prevarication, no more delay. We are going to get this done on Monday, and we will sit there and vote until it’s done.”
Last week, peers in the House of Lords pressed their demand for changes to the Rwanda scheme causing further parliamentary deadlock over Sunak’s controversial deportation plan.
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The House of Lords snubbed ministerial calls to back down and insisted by 245 votes to 208, majority 37, on a requirement that Rwanda cannot be treated as safe until promised protections are in place.
A short time later, the upper chamber inflicted a further defeat, again backing by 247 votes to 195, majority 52, an exemption from removal for those who worked with the UK military or Government overseas, such as Afghan interpreters.
The Lords’ insistence on the amendments ensured a fourth round of “ping-pong” over the Bill, where legislation is batted between the two Houses until agreement is reached.
The proposed legislation from the Government would severely limit the grounds for legal challenges to its scheme to fly asylum seekers out to Rwanda.
It would also make it easier to remove refugees who have arrived in the UK by illegal means.
The plans have already been approved by the House of Commons on numerous occasions.
Earlier this year, Sunak vowed to quit the ECHR if Strasbourg continues to block attempts to get flights to Rwanda.
He said that controlling illegal migration is “more important” than membership of the ECHR, saying he would not let a “foreign court” interfere with a policy that is “fundamental to our sovereignty”.