Rishi Sunak’s controversial Rwanda asylum bill has suffered its first defeat in the House of Lords. The unelected chamber sought to delay a treaty with the east African nation that paves the way for the divisive deportation scheme with a defeat backed by 214 votes to 171, majority 43. Peers supported a call by the Lords International Agreements Committee (IAC) that parliament should not ratify the pact until ministers can prove Rwanda is safe. Mr Sunak’s bill states that Rwanda must be treated as a “safe country” under UK law, which the government believes will allow deportation flights to the country to begin.