Sunak considering exemptions to Rwanda bill for some Afghans

Rishi Sunak’s government is considering concessions on the Rwanda deportation bill to allow exemptions for Afghans who served alongside UK forces, parliamentary sources say.

The amendment enacting the Afghan exemption, put forward by Des Browne, a former Labour defence secretary, secured the biggest majority – of 57 – with peers backing it by 275 votes to 218.

The Lords also agreed to a measure by the crossbench peer David Hope requiring Rwanda to pass an independent verification before it was considered safe.

Ministers have so far resisted offering any concessions apart from a minor proposal for an annual report on the impact of the bill on victims of modern slavery and trafficking.

It emerged on Tuesday that AirTanker, an aviation company that provides a fleet of 14 airbuses to the RAF to fuel and transport the military, is being lined up to take asylum seekers to Rwanda, which could plug a big gap in the government’s plans.

The bill, and its allied new treaty with Rwanda, aims to answer supreme court criticism that the African state is unsafe for people deported from the UK.