Channel boat tragedy hours after Rwanda go-ahead

Rishi Sunak’s controversial Rwanda Bill was today brought into stark focus following the deaths of at least five migrants - including a child - who were packed into a small boat with more than 100 people trying to cross the English Channel.

French police and coastguard said the fatalities included three men, a woman and a seven-year-old girl.

The Channel tragedy came after late-night votes in Parliament, as Sunak finally saw his Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill getting voted through, which will set in motion plans for deporting asylum seekers who entered the UK "illegally" to east-central Africa .

But what’s next, what are the legal hurdles - and what happens to the legislation if Labour wins power?

With the latest from Westminster, Mark Blunden is joined in the House of Commons by the Evening Standard’s political editor Nicholas Cecil.

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