UK-Rwanda Partnership Debate

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Department: Home Office

UK-Rwanda Partnership

Lilian Greenwood Excerpts
Wednesday 6th December 2023

(1 year ago)

Commons Chamber
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James Cleverly Portrait James Cleverly
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My right hon. Friend has made a fundamental point. Every story I read of people who have drowned in the channel or the Mediterranean because their desire for a better life has been manipulated by criminals is heartbreaking, as I am sure it is for every Member of the House, and we are duty-bound to do something about it. Hand-wringing and stone-throwing from the Opposition Benches will not save those people’s lives, so we choose to take action. We choose to break the criminal gangs, and we are working with international partners in Africa, on the continent and elsewhere to break the business model of those gangs. Opposition Members can either help, or they can stand aside while we try to do the right thing and prevent people from dying in the seas.

Lilian Greenwood Portrait Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)
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The deputy chair of the Conservative Party has said that the Government should just ignore the law and send people back anyway. Does the Home Secretary agree with the deputy chair of his party, and if he does, can he tell us when the Conservative party became the party that ripped up laws and supported disorder?

James Cleverly Portrait James Cleverly
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We absolutely abide by international law.