Summary

  • The House of Lords is debating and voting on the government's attempts to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda

  • The government has promised that the first flights to Rwanda will happen "in the spring"

  • This new bill makes clear in UK law Rwanda is a safe country, following a Supreme Court ruling on the government's original plan

  • But among the amendments being looked at are ones which challenge the government's assessment that Rwanda is safe

  • Ministers argue the plan would deter people from arriving in the UK on small boats across the English Channel

  • You can watch what's happening by pressing the play button at the top of this page - there won't be regular text updates

Live Reporting

  1. Welcome

    Hello and welcome to our stream-only coverage as the House of Lords debates and votes on the government’s attempts to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

    You can watch the debate live by pressing the play button at the top of our page.

    This new bill makes clear in UK law Rwanda is a safe country, following a Supreme Court ruling that the government’s original plans were unlawful.

    However, among the amendments being looked at are ones which challenge the assessment that the country is safe.

    There are votes this afternoon and again on Wednesday - almost two years after ministers first announced the plan to send some migrants to east Africa.

    The government argues the plan will deter people from arriving in the UK on small boats.

    Read more about the story here.