THE Rwanda bill has been passed through Parliament, with the Prime Minister saying ‘nothing will stand in our way’ of getting flights off the ground to the country.

But how did Dorset MPs vote on the bill at the late-night session in Parliament last night?

MPs and members of the House of Lords were engaged in a tussle over the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill on Monday, April 22.

Lords sent the bill back to the Commons a total of five times in attempting to secure changes.

The House of Lords ended the deadlock between the houses when MPs rejected a requirement that Rwanda could not be treated as safe until the secretary of state, having consulted an independent monitoring body, made a statement to Parliament to that effect.

Dorset MPs voted with the government to pass the bill, including the Minister of State for Countering Illegal Migration, Michael Tomlinson.

South Dorset MP, Richard Drax, and West Dorset MP, Chris Loder, voted in favour as did fellow Conservatives Sir Christopher Chope, Tobias Ellwood, Simon Hoare, and Sir Robert Syms.

Bournemouth West MP, Sir Conor Burns, had no vote recorded on the bill.

In a statement on Tuesday, Rishi Sunak said: “The passing of this landmark legislation is not just a step forward but a fundamental change in the global equation on migration.

“We introduced the Rwanda Bill to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit them.

“The passing of this legislation will allow us to do that and make it very clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay.

“Our focus is to now get flights off the ground, and I am clear that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives.”