Peers have been warned not to block Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda Bill as it returns to the House of Lords for crunch votes this week.

Bim Afolami, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said the upper chamber has a “right to scrutinise but they ultimately shouldn’t block what is the will of the elected House of Commons”. 

The Bill returns to the Lords today and on Wednesday for its report stage debate which represents the final chance for peers to attempt to make sweeping changes to the draft legislation. 

The Government hopes the Bill will pave the way for migrant deportation flights to finally take off after the policy was repeatedly stymied in the courts. 

There is even speculation that the first flights could take off by the end of this month if the Bill can successfully navigate its final stages in Parliament and make it onto the statute book. 

Mr Afolami told Sky News: “We call on the House of Lords to listen to the democratically elected House of Commons which, it passed with a good majority in the House of Commons, and the Lords, yes they have a right to scrutinise but they ultimately shouldn’t block what is the will of the elected House of Commons and so I urge them to pass it without delay.” 

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