A Bolton MP has labelled the Rwanda bill a  'gimmick' after it was passed by Parliament. 

The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill was proposed by the Government last year to revive the policy which would remove ‘certain migrants’ to the East African country. 

Prior to that, a previous version of the Rwanda scheme had been ruled as unlawful by the Supreme Court. 

Since the new bill was put forward, the House of Lords had been engaged in a protracted battle to amend it, sending it back to the Commons five times in a bid to secure changes. 

However, the Lords has now passed the plan, with it poised to become law. Peers were up late into the night, with the news that they passed the bill breaking just after midnight. 

Now, Labour MP for Bolton South East, Yasmin Qureshi, said: "The Rwanda Bill has finally passed after months and months and millions wasted by the Government. 

"Still, not a single person has been deported. To send five people into space on Virgin Galactic costs less than the proposed cost of sending one person to Rwanda. 

"We all want to stop the boats, they are dangerous and we need a fair system for all. The Tories refuse to work with their counterparts in Europe to smash the criminal gangs who are flourishing from the illegal routes. 

Read more: St George ‘not racist’, says MP, as under half of Bolton say they’re English 

Read more: Andy Burnham says future of town centre will not need 'traditional retail spaces' 

Read more: Conversion of 'charming' moorland cottage into children's home blocked

"I will support a bill that moves to do this, rather than one that pushes gimmicks over real action." 

The bill aims to clear the way to send asylum seekers who cross the Channel in small boats on a one-way flight to Kigali. 

The legislation and a treaty with Rwanda are intended to prevent further legal challenges to the stalled scheme after the Supreme Court ruled the plan was unlawful.

As well as compelling judges to regard the  country as safe, it would give ministers the power to ignore emergency injunctions. 

This comes as five people died trying to cross the English Channel in the early hours of this morning. 

PM Rishi Sunak has said the deaths "underscore" the need for a Rwanda plan. 

He said: “We want to prevent people making these very dangerous crossings. If you look at what’s happening, criminal gangs are exploiting vulnerable people. They are packing more and more people into these unseaworthy dinghies.

“We’ve seen an enormous increase in the numbers per boat over the past few years.

“This is what tragically happens when they push people out to sea and that’s why, for matters of compassion more than anything else, we must actually break this business model and end this unfairness of people coming to our country illegally.”