Tory MPs insisted it is “better late than never” after the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby signalled he will not block Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda Bill.
The Most Rev Justin Welby acknowledged that the Commons is the “senior house” and said he expected the Government to “prevail”.
It comes as the legislation aimed at getting the flagship asylum scheme off the ground remains in parliamentary limbo after suffering a series of defeats in the Lords.
Conservative MPs welcomed the comments by the top cleric, who has been one of the most vocal critics in the unelected chamber of the Bill.
Dame Priti Patel, who was home secretary when the Rwanda plan was announced, told the Daily Express: “This world-leading migration and economic development partnership will ensure those who are transferred to Rwanda will be supported to resettle with full access to services, accommodation and new opportunities to start a new life there.
“Rwanda has one of the strongest records of refugee resettlement and while its political opponents spend their time grossly misrepresenting this partnership, it is the criminal gangs who profit by smuggling people into the UK, resulting in loss of life, creating unsustainable pressures on public services with vast costs to the UK taxpayer, while offering no solutions to address the problems that beset the broken global asylum system.”
Tory MP Sir Michael Fabricant said he was “glad that this holy man has finally seen the light”.
Mr Fabricant added: “In all seriousness, too many have drowned through the greed of people traffickers.
“If Rwanda deters illegal immigration across the channel and saves lives, the Archbishop will know he has made the right decision.”
Conservative MP Marco Longhi, who sits on the Commons Home Affairs Committee, said: “Well, better late than never.
“The delay in reaching this far more sensible position has probably cost lives because the Rwanda plan’s deterrence effect has not been in place thanks to the Lords’ opposition.
“In fact, more illegal migrants have tried crossing because they know that they need to beat our legislative timetable.
“Let’s hope we can now move at pace and prevent further loss of life and stop more money being made by evil people smugglers.”
The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill is stuck in parliamentary ping-pong, where the legislation bounces between the Lords and Commons until an agreement is reached.
MPs are expected to reject the latest amendments by peers when the Bill returns to the Commons next month after Westminster’s Easter break.
Speaking to LBC’s Full Disclosure podcast, Mr Welby said: “It’s got ping-pong, which means when the Commons and the Lords try and work out a common view or the Commons prevails.
“The Government will I’m sure prevail because they’ve got the majority in the Commons, the Commons is the senior house, and quite rightly.
“The Lords exists, and the bishops are in the Lords and stick to the rules, to ask questions, to refine, to suggest better ways of doing things.
“You’ve got real experts and there’s an incredible amount of expertise there.
“And the debates are often absolutely fascinating. They’re not loud and chatty. They are normally measured and thoughtful.
“And in the end, on the Rwanda Bill, the Lords will say, okay, we’ve made our case, you don’t accept it and that’s the end of it.”
Mr Welby insisted he would continue to “morally” object to the Rwanda policy.
He said: “My arguments with Rwanda have got nothing to do with it being Rwanda. If it was Sweden, I’d have the same problem.”
He acknowledged there was a need to “control immigration” and “deal with the immense evil of people trafficking”.
But he said it is “not what we’ve got to do that we disagree with it’s how you do it”.
Mr Welby added: “So what we’ve been arguing, many people in the Lords arguing, is we need a better system that shares out this burden in a way that is fair to the countries that get the most refugees.
“Seventy-two per cent of refugees end up in the country next to the one they come from, which is almost certainly going to be really poor. Now it’s fine they stay there, if the country can manage it.
“How do we make sure that country has the resources to do that in a way that enables the people to go home, or to build new lives, rather than having to travel at great risk halfway around the world?”
It comes as the Prime Minister hopes to get planes carrying asylum seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda in the air this spring.
Mr Sunak, who made stopping small boats one of his top five priorities, is facing intense pressure after record-high migrant Channel crossings for the first three months of this year.
