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Tracking the Rwanda Bill (Pt 3)

03 May 2024 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 8069 / Categories: Features , Immigration & asylum
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Michael Zander KC on the final stages of this ‘post-truth’ Bill, as it elbowed its way to enactment
  • A detailed look at the proposed amendments to the Rwanda Bill as the Lords backed down and Royal Assent was given.

The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill to send asylum seekers to be processed in Rwanda finally completed its passage through Parliament just before midnight on Monday, 22 April. Royal Assent was given three days later. It is difficult to think of any piece of legislation that has attracted as much strong-principled criticism as what Lord Anderson of Ipswich called this ‘post-truth Bill’.

The Committee stage in the Lords took 18 hours of debate, spread over three days: 12, 14 and 19 February. A great number of amendments were moved, but none were put to the vote.

The Report stage, 4 and 6 March (another 11 hours of debate), resulted in ten government defeats by large majorities. (For details of the amendments passed, see below.)

When the Bill returned

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Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

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DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

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NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
Lawyers have broadly welcomed plans to electronically tag up to 22,000 more offenders, scrap most prison terms below a year and make prisoners ‘earn’ early release
David Lammy, Ellie Reeves and Baroness Levitt have taken up office at the Ministry of Justice, following the cabinet reshuffle
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