UK premier urges House of Lords to pass Rwanda asylum bill

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday called on the House of Lords to pass his controversial Rwanda bill, saying that it is now time to start the asylum flights to the East African country.

Speaking at a news conference in Downing Street, Sunak said: “We are making progress to stop the boats. But now it’s past time to start the flights.”

His remarks came a day after a majority of British lawmakers voted to back a controversial bill that would allow the government to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Referring to Wednesday's vote, Sunak said that his party proved that they are united to stop the migrant boats.

The "Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill," the flagship asylum policy of Sunak, was backed by a vote of 320-276.

Sunak urged the House of Lords to pass the bill.

"It's time to take back control of our borders and defeat the people's smugglers, it's time to restore people's trust that the system is fair," he added.

The bill, which was submitted to parliament last month, aims to address the concerns of the UK Supreme Court, which ruled that the government's original plan to send asylum seekers to the East African country was unlawful.