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The House of Lords has delayed the passing of the government’s Rwanda bill until next week – in a blow to Rishi Sunak’s attempts to get planes off the ground deporting illegal migrants to the country.

MPs overturned Tuesday’s attempts by the House of Lords to dilute the plan – but peers have now put forward even more changes to the proposed new law.

It is now expected that the Commons will consider the changes on Monday next week, dashing Number 10’s hopes to get it through today.

Downing Street has been unwilling to concede any ground on the areas that peers are trying to amend, including on the treatment of people who served with or for the British armed forces abroad.

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Number 10 had set its sights on passing the legislation this week as part of its plans to get planes in the air in the spring.

The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill was tabled last year after the Supreme Court ruled the previous scheme to deport asylum seekers who arrived illegally in the UK was unlawful.

The current bill aims to declare Rwanda safe and not allow courts to consider the safety of the nation during appeals.

This is being done based on a new treaty agreed between the UK government and Kigali.

Speaking earlier on Wednesday, the prime minister’s spokesperson ruled out doing a deal on any of these changes.

They said: “We are not considering concessions.

“We believe the bill as it stands is the right bill and the quickest way to get flights off the ground.”

What are the latest amendments suggested by the Lords?

Of the four amendments added on Tuesday, three were tabled by Labour peers and one by a crossbencher.

The proposed changes sought to:
• ensure the bill complies with domestic and international law;
• that Rwanda would not be declared safe until a report was completed;
• that appeals based on safety would be allowed;
• and that exemptions would be allowed for people who served with or for the British armed forces.

Peers want to insist on the amendments about people who assisted the UK’s armed forces, and a report advising on the safety of Rwanda, in particular.

The government was defeated on the first by 245 votes to 208 – a majority of 37, and the second by 247 votes to 195 – a majority of 52.

Labour and crossbench peers – those who do not associate with a political party – worked together to outvote the Conservatives.

A government source told Sky News: “We wanted to get it done today, but it shows Labour for their true colours.”

Responding to the latest defeats, Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker told Sky News that he was “extremely disappointed” with the delays.

He denied the government had “slammed the door” on people like interpreters in Afghanistan who worked with UK armed forces.

But Mr Baker said people wanting to come to the UK who had served with British armed forces had to go through the Ministry of Defence.

“They shouldn’t be travelling with people smugglers illegally across the channel – and that’s what we’ve got to break,” he said.

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Approach to military interpreters ‘shameful’ – Labour

The amendment on people who helped the armed forces has been at the centre of a heated debate – with the government saying it is waiting for a report on the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) before setting out its steps.

But Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Tory MPs just voted to insist that Afghan interpreters who served British armed forces can be sent to Rwanda.

“A scheme which costs £2m per asylum seeker. A £500m plus scheme for less than 1% of asylum seekers. Which now includes those who worked with our troops

“Shameful and shambolic.”

Read more:
Rigby: Rwanda win not automatic victory for PM
Cost of Rwanda scheme could soar to £500m

Johnny Mercer, a former soldier and the government’s veterans minister, replied: “My team have worked night and day to find permanent accommodation for circa 25,000 Afghans who the UK have provided sanctuary to, without you lifting a finger to help.

“We want them to use safe routes, not undertake lethal channel crossings. Your concern is fake.”

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Hundreds of NHS quangos to be axed – as plans unveiled for health funding to be linked to patient feedback

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Hundreds of NHS quangos to be axed - as plans unveiled for health funding to be linked to patient feedback

NHS funding could be linked to patient feedback under new plans, with poorly performing services that “don’t listen” penalised with less money.

As part of the “10 Year Health Plan” to be unveiled next week, a new scheme will be trialled that will see patients asked to rate the service they received – and if they feel it should get a funding boost or not.

It will be introduced first for services that have a track record of very poor performance and where there is evidence of patients “not being listened to”, the government said.

This will create a “powerful incentive for services to listen to feedback and improve patients’ experience”, it added.

Sky News understands that it will not mean bonuses or pay increases for the best performing staff.

NHS payment mechanisms will also be reformed to reward services that keep patients out of hospital as part of a new ‘Year of Care Payments’ initiative and the government’s wider plan for change.

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Speaking to The Times, chief executive of the NHS Confederation Matthew Taylor expressed concerns about the trial.

He told the newspaper: “Patient experience is determined by far more than their individual interaction with the clinician and so, unless this is very carefully designed and evaluated, there is a risk that providers could be penalised for more systemic issues, such as constraints around staffing or estates, that are beyond their immediate control to fix.”

He said that NHS leaders would be keen to “understand more about the proposal”, because elements were “concerning”.

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Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We will reward great patient care, so patient experience and clinical excellence are met with extra cash. These reforms are key to keeping people healthy and out of hospital, and to making the NHS sustainable for the long-term as part of the Plan for Change.”

In the raft of announcements in the 10 Year Health Plan, the government has said 201 bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England – known as quangos – will be scrapped.

These include Healthwatch England, set up in 2012 to speak out on behalf of NHS and social care patients, the National Guardian’s Office, created in 2015 to support NHS whistleblowers, and the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB).

The head of the Royal College of Nursing described the move as “so unsafe for patients right now”.

Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Today, in hospitals across the NHS, we know one nurse can be left caring for 10, 15 or more patients at a time. It’s not safe. It’s not effective. And it’s not acceptable.

“For these proposed changes to be effective, government must take ownership of the real issue, the staffing crisis on our wards, and not just shuffle people into new roles. Protecting patients has to be the priority and not just a drive for efficiency.”

Elsewhere, the new head of NHS England Sir Jim Mackey said key parts of the NHS appear “built to keep the public away because it’s an inconvenience”.

“We’ve made it really hard, and we’ve probably all been on the end of it,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

“The ward clerk only works nine to five, or they’re busy doing other stuff; the GP practice scrambles every morning.”

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Cocaine haul worth nearly £100m seized in one of UK’s biggest-ever drugs busts

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Cocaine haul worth nearly £100m seized in one of UK's biggest-ever drugs busts

A haul of cocaine worth nearly £100m has been seized at a UK port, authorities say.

The haul, weighing 2.4 tonnes, was found under containers on a ship arriving from Panama at London Gateway port in Thurrock, Essex.

It had been detected earlier this year after an intelligence-led operation but was intercepted as it arrived in the UK this week.

With the help of the port operator, 37 large containers were moved to uncover the drugs, worth an estimated £96m.

The haul is the sixth-largest cocaine seizure in UK history, according to Border Force.

Its maritime director Charlie Eastaugh said: “This seizure – one of the largest of its kind – is just one example of how dedicated Border Force maritime officers remain one step ahead of the criminal gangs who threaten our security.

“Our message to these criminals is clear – more than ever before, we are using intelligence and international law enforcement cooperation to disrupt and dismantle your operations.”

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Container ships are one of the main ways international gangs smuggle Class A drugs into the UK, Mr Eastaugh said.

Cocaine deaths in England and Wales increased by 31% between 2022 and 2023, according to the latest Home Office data.

Elsewhere this weekend, a separate haul of 170 kilos of ketamine, 4,000 MDMA pills, and 20 firearms were found on a lorry at Dover Port in Kent.

One of the 20 firearms found at Dover Port. Pic: NCA
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One of the 20 firearms found at Dover Port. Pic: NCA

Experts estimate the ketamine’s street value to be £4.5m, with the MDMA worth at least £40,000.

The driver of the lorry, a 34-year-old Tajikistan national, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of smuggling the items, the National Crime Agency said.

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Fixing welfare a ‘moral imperative’, Starmer says, after government U-turn

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Fixing welfare a 'moral imperative', Starmer says, after government U-turn

Sir Keir Starmer has said fixing the UK’s welfare system is a “moral imperative” after the government’s U-turn.

The prime minister faced a significant rebellion over plans to cut sickness and disability benefits as part of a package he said would shave £5bn off the welfare bill and get more people into work.

The government has since offered concessions ahead of a vote in the Commons on Tuesday, including exempting existing Personal Independence Payment claimants (PIP) from the stricter new criteria, while the universal credit health top-up will only be cut and frozen for new applications.

Speaking at Welsh Labour’s annual conference in Llandudno, North Wales, on Saturday, Sir Keir said: “Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken, failing people every day.

“Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way, conference, and we will.”

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Starmer defends welfare U-turn

Sir Keir also warned of a “backroom stitch up” between the Conservatives, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru ahead of next year’s Senedd elections.

He said such a deal would mark a “return to the chaos and division of the last decade”.

But opposition parties have hit back at the prime minister’s “imaginary coalitions”, with Plaid Cymru accusing Labour of “scraping the barrel”.

Reform UK said the NHS “isn’t safe in Labour’s hands” and people are “left waiting in pain” while ministers “make excuses”.

Voters in Wales will head to the polls next May and recent polls suggest Labour are in third place, behind Reform and Plaid.

Labour have been the largest party at every Senedd election since devolution began in 1999.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out making deals with Plaid Cymru or Reform at the Senedd election.

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Is Starmer at the mercy of his MPs?

At the conference, the prime minister was joined on stage by Wales Secretary Jo Stevens, First Minister Eluned Morgan and deputy leader of Welsh Labour Carolyn Harries.

He described Baroness Morgan as a “fierce champion for Wales” and “the best person to lead Wales into the future”.

Sir Keir said the £80m transition board to support Port Talbot steelworkers after the closure of the plant’s blast furnaces was a result of “two Labour governments working together for the people of Wales”.

He described Nigel Farage as a “wolf in Wall Street clothing” who has “no idea what he’s talking about” on the issue.

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The PM said the Reform UK leader “isn’t interested in Wales” and has no viable plan for the blast furnaces at Port Talbot.

“When you ask him about Clacton, he thinks he’s running in the 2.10 at Ascot,” Sir Keir joked.

“He’s a wolf in Wall Street clothing.”

Mr Farage has said his party wants to restart the blast furnaces at Port Talbot.

Around 20 tractors were parked on the promenade in Llandudno ahead of the speech, as farmers gathered outside the conference to stage a protest.

It was later followed by a pro-Palestine demonstration of around 200 people, with around a dozen counter-protestors also in attendance.

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