Rwanda bill latest LIVE: Rishi Sunak urges Lords not to 'frustrate will of people' and back deportation flights

Rishi Sunak appealed for the House of Lords to “do the right thing” and vote his Rwanda bill through at a press conference on Thursday morning.

He said not doing so would “frustrate the will of the people” and stressed that the “elected” parliament had backed the legislation with a majority.

The Prime Minister also brushed off questions about division in the Tory party, insisting that Wednesday night’s results show Conservatives are “united in wanting to stop the boats”.

After a third reading in the Commons, the Safety of Rwanda Bill passed unamended with a majority of 44.

While the successful passage is a boost to Mr Sunak, it came after dozens of backbenchers rebelled to back right-wing amendments over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday, before many of these would-be Tory rebels ended up falling into line to back the flagship legislation.

Downing Street described the Rwanda Bill’s progression as a “major step” in the Prime Minister’s pledge to stop small boats of asylum seekers from coming to Britain via the English Channel. The Government is now said to be targeting spring deportation flights to Rwanda after the Commons result.

Follow latest updates below...

That concludes The Standard's coverage

11:27 , Jordan King

This is the end of The Standard's live coverage of Rishi Sunak's press conference and the reaction to it.

Head to our website for updates on the Rwanda bill.

To recap:

11:24 , Jordan King

The Prime Minister held a press conference at around 10.15am on Thursday morning, essentially in a bid to urge the House of Lords to vote the legislation through.

The main takeaways are:

• Mr Sunak believes not passing the bill, backed by an elected majority, would "frustrate the will of the people"

• He said he is "not messing around" with his commitment to this policy, adding that there "are circumstances in which is prepared to move ahead" in the face of orders from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which impose a temporary emergency injunction on deportations of asylum seekers to Rwanda

• The PM insisted his party is "completely united in stopping the boats" despite having to face what was nearly a rebellion last night

• He could not 100% guarantee a plane would take off to Rwanda before the next general election, only answering that his priority was to make this happen "as quickly as possible"

Press conference has finished

10:57 , Jordan King

The PM has stopped addressing the nation, after taking multiple questions on his efforts to get deportation flights landing in Rwanda.

Mr Sunak will not comment on whether UK will get money back if Rwanda bill isn't passed

10:42 , Jordan King

When asked whether the Government will "fight" to get taxpayers' money back if no flights end up going to Rwanda, Mr Sunak assured the press his fight was focused on getting flights to Rwanda.

Tories 'were united in wanting to stop the boats'

10:40 , Jordan King

Mr Sunak would not say whether rebel Tories would face any consequences for their actions, saying "it is right that we debate these things".

He repeated claims that the overall result proved the Conservatives "are united in wanting to stop the votes".

Mr Sunak won't give specific date for first flight to Rwanda

10:38 , Jordan King

The PM was asked when the first flight to Rwanda would set off and he answered "as soon as practically possible".

When pushed for a specific date, he said it was up to the House of Lords.

PM 'will ignore Rule 39 injunctions under some circumstances'

10:37 , Jordan King

Mr Sunak was asked whether he would ignore his legal advice, which says it would be a breach of international law to ignore Rule 39 injunctions.

He said he has been 'crystal clear' that he will not allow a foreign court stop flights to Rwanda.

"Are there circumstances in which I am prepared to move ahead in the face of Rule 39? The answer is clearly yes."

Can PM 100% guarantee" a plane will take off by election?

10:29 , Jordan King

When asked whether the PM could "100% guarantee" a plane will take off if the Rwanda bill is passed, Mr Sunak recounted his actions thus far and said it is a priority to get flights off "as quickly as possible".

He said: "We've been crystal clear that we want to do this as quickly as possible and now it's up to the House of Lords.

He stressed that the "elected" parliament passed the bill with a strong majority.

'We have a plan and it's working'

10:26 , Jordan King

The PM said his party's plan is working and "you can see the progress that's being made", arguing that this is why the Government needs to "stick to the plan" and push the Rwanda bill through.

'Only long-term solution to this problem is to have a deterrent'

10:24 , Jordan King

Mr Sunak spoke about his belief that the Government has made progress on stopping the boats.

He argued that the Rwanda bill acts as a deterrant and repeated his argument that this is what is necessary to tackle illegal migration.

Tories 'are completely united' PM says

10:21 , Jordan King

When the BBC questioned the PM about the Conservatives seeming so divided, Mr Sunak said the party is "completely united in wanting to stop the boats".

PM says not passing Rwanda bill would 'frustrate the will of the people'

10:19 , Jordan King

Mr Sunak urged the House of Lords to pass the Rwanda bill, saying that not doing so would "frustrate the will of the people" and "take us back to square one".

Rishi Sunak has begun speaking

10:16 , Jordan King

The Prime Minister has started his press conference, followThe Standard as we update you on everything he says.

Lee Anderson 'didn't vote against Rwanda bill after Labour MPs laughed at him'

10:09 , Jordan King

Self-styled Tory “Red Wall” hardman Lee Anderson told how he ditched his plan to vote against the Government’s flagship Rwanda Bill after Labour MPs started “sniggering and taking the mick” in the No Lobby.

Mr Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith both quit as a Conservative deputy chairmen to back amendments, which failed, to the controversial legislation.

But just a day later Mr Clarke-Smith voted with the Government on the bill which cleared the Commons by 320 votes to 276 and now goes to the Lords as the Government seeks to get deportation flights to Rwanda off the ground by the spring.

Mr Anderson, a £100,000-a-year presenter on GB News, was intending to stick to being a rebel.

But the Ashfield Tory MP and former Labour councillor changed his mind on the bill at the eleventh hour, and abstained.

He told GB News: “I was going to vote no. I went into the no lobby to vote no, because I couldn’t see how I could support the bill after backing all the amendments.

“I got into the no lobby and I spent about two or three minutes with a colleague in there. The Labour lot were giggling and laughing and taking the mick and I couldn’t do it: In my heart of hearts, I couldn’t vote no.

So I walked out and abstained.”

He explained further: “I wanted to vote no, but when I saw that lot in there laughing there’s no way I could support them above the party that’s given me a political home.

Will Rwanda give the UK's money back if the bill isn't passed?

10:03 , Jordan King

Yesterday, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame said that if no asylum seekers are sent to his country, he would refund the £240 million the UK has already spent (with £50 million to come).

He said: "It's only going to be used if those people will come. If they don't come, we can return the money."

But Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo has since said Rwanda has "no obligation" to return any money, but added it would be "considered" if requested.

Peers urged to 'get on' and pass the Rwanda Bill

09:57 , Jordan King

Immigration minister Tom Pursglove urged peers to “get on and make good on this legislation”.

He told BBC’s Newsnight: “I think it is really important that the Bill has gone to the House of Lords with a significant majority, having had very considerable scrutiny on the floor of the House of Commons, particularly over the last couple of days.

“It has gone up unamended and I really hope that the House of Lords will now get on, consider this Bill and get it passed into law so that we can operationalise this plan and ultimately save lives.”

Government is moving 'towards totalitarianism'

09:56 , Jordan King

Leading lawyer and independent crossbencher Lord Carlile of Berriew said the Government is stepping “towards totalitarianism” in its handling of the Rwanda Bill.

He told the Today programme it is the House of Lord’s role to revise legislation and protect the public from abuses of legal correctness and principle by the Government.

He said: “I think many of us in the House of Lords believe that is exactly what has happened, that good policymaking and the integrity of our legal system are under attack because of internal political quarrelling in the Conservative Party.

“If you want to blame someone, you can blame the lawyers, but the lawyers on the whole do not accept that. What we are doing is trying to countermand meddling by politicians in the law.

“It’s been Government elevating itself to an unacceptable level above the law, above our much-admired Supreme Court, and above the reputation internationally of the United Kingdom law.

“We’ve seen in various countries the damage that is done when governments use perceived and often ill-judged political imperatives to place themselves above the courts – this is a step towards totalitarianism and an attitude that the United Kingdom usually deprecates.

“I think you’ll find that many of lawyers in the House of Lords will say this is a step too far, this is illegitimate interference by politics with the law, on an issue that can be solved in other ways.”

'Multiple letters of no confidence have been submitted against Mr Sunak'

09:53 , Jordan King

Several letters of no confidence are said to have been submitted against the Prime Minister, according to LBC.

The outlet's political editor Natasha Clark said: "I was also told that they had held letters back from around the time of the December vote."

The letters have reportedly come from some of the 11 Tory MPs who voted against the Rwanda bill last night.

To recap on where we are with the Rwanda bill

09:49 , Jordan King

The Safety of Rwanda Bill passed its third reading in the Commons unamended with a majority of 44 after only 11 Tories, including former home secretary Suella Braverman, voted against the Prime Minister's immigration plan.

With the legislation now set to move to the House of Lords, where serious opposition is expected, Mr Sunak is likely to urge peers to pass the Bill as soon as possible.

Downing Street described the Rwanda Bill's progression as a "major step" in the Prime Minister's pledge to stop small boats of asylum seekers from coming to Britain via the English Channel.

The Prime Minister has previously said it is his ambition to have removal flights leaving by the spring.

Mr Sunak has made the Rwanda policy - first proposed in 2022 while Boris Johnson was in No 10 - central to his premiership, forming part of his pledge to stop small boats of migrants from coming to Britain by the English Channel.

Under the plan, migrants who cross the Channel in small boats could be sent to Rwanda rather than being allowed to seek asylum in the UK.

The legislation, along with a recently signed treaty with Kigali, is aimed at ensuring the scheme is legally watertight after a Supreme Court ruling against it last year.

Good morning

09:47 , Jordan King

Good morning and welcome to The Evening Standard's coverage of Rishi Sunak's surprise press conference over his controversial Rwanda bill.

It comes after another display of the deep divisions in the Tory party after dozens of backbenchers rebelled to back right-wing amendments over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Before the third reading vote, Mr Sunak was hit by another revolt - following on from similar-sized rebellions on Tuesday - as 61 Tory MPs backed an amendment, proposed by former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, designed to toughen the Bill.

But rebels, after an 11th-hour meeting in Parliament on Wednesday, signalled before the third reading vote that they were prepared to back the Bill without any changes as they regarded that a defeat for the Government would be damaging ahead of a general election that is only months away.