The Government’s Climate Minister has been flown thousands of miles back from final negotiations at the COP28 environment conference in Dubai to vote for the Rwanda bill, it has emerged. The Telegraph has the story.
Graham Stuart had been attending the last stages of the climate summit before he was called back to Parliament as Downing Street scrambles to see off a Tory rebellion over legislation.
Mr. Stuart will be sent back to COP28 after the vote, meaning he is making a 6,800-mile round trip to help Rishi Sunak pass his new emergency bill.
Hauling back a Climate Minister from an environmental summit via two long-distance flights reflected how every vote was deemed to matter by Number 10.
The vote on the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, which toughens up the legal protections for the Rwanda deportation, takes place on Tuesday evening.
Yvette Cooper, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, joked about Mr. Stuart’s return: “I guess they can say at least one flight has taken off as a result of this legislation.”
MPs on the Commons International Development Committee also had a trip to the Caribbean cancelled because of the crunch vote.
The MPs had been due to visit Barbados and Dominica to explore the effects of climate change on the islands. The BBC reported some MPs were on their way to the airport when the trip was cancelled.
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