WESTMORLAND and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron voted against the Rwanda Immigration bill, saying it is an 'expensive waste of money' that will 'achieve nothing.'

MPs approved the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill at the second reading by 313 votes to 269, a majority of 44, on Tuesday.

The Safety of Rwanda Bill, along with a new treaty revealed last week with Kigali, is part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plan to appease concerns of the Supreme Court about the treatment of asylum seekers who could potentially be deported to the East African nation.

It is designed to declare Rwanda is a safe country for asylum processing purposes and prevent judges from blocking sending migrants who arrive via small boats after crossing the Channel on a one-way trip to Kigali.

The Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron voted against the bill.

Mr Farron said: "It is an expensive waste of money that will achieve nothing. The absolute maximum number of refugees who would go to Rwanda from the UK is two per cent - at the moment, it looks unlikely that any will.

"The money that Rishi Sunak has wasted on the Rwanda scheme, which has not dealt with a single refugee, if it would have been spent differently, could have given us 5.7 million extra GP appointments – it won’t deal with the problem, and it will cost a lot of money.

Mr Farron argued that the main problem when it comes to asylum-seeking in the UK is that the United Kingdom government is 'rubbish' at processing those people who claim asylum and those who are legitimate refugees.

"The Rwanda bill is just a very expensive attempt to distract people from the government’s own failure," said the MP.

Following the result, the Prime Minister tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “The British people should decide who gets to come to this country – not criminal gangs or foreign courts.

“That’s what this Bill delivers.

“We will now work to make it law so that we can get flights going to Rwanda and stop the boats.”

The Home Office has confirmed £240 million has been paid to Kigali so far, with another payment of £50 million anticipated in 2024/25. No deportation flights have yet taken off.