By Bond Robertson 
The British Parliament's House of Lords voted to postpone the ratification of an agreement aimed at overcoming the legal obstacle to Rishi Sunak's plan for Rwanda.
The much-discussed plan involves asylum seekers arriving on the south coast of England in small inflatable boats being sent to Rwanda.
The proposal has been met with much opposition, including from British courts, which believe sending asylum seekers to Rwanda is a violation of international law. Therefore, the Supreme Court halted the bill in December.
To overcome the opposition of the courts, the United Kingdom last year signed an agreement with Rwanda, under which the African country pledged to take care of the security considerations of any asylum seekers who are sent.
This is the agreement that the Senate voted on Monday to postpone ratification. The resolution was adopted by a majority of 214 votes to 171 votes. The result indicates the extent of opposition to the new bill presented by the government in the Senate.
Last week, the controversial bill was approved in the House of Commons. The opposition is scheduled to discuss it in the Senate at the end of January. The decisive vote is likely to take place in March.
The Senate is likely to make changes to the bill and may ultimately delay it for a year, meaning it cannot be passed until after the next election.
Read also