MP Rachel Maclean voted to support Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's flagship deportation legalisation to "stop the boats".

Under the plan, migrants who cross the Channel in small boats could be sent to Rwanda rather than being allowed to seek asylum in the UK.

The Redditch MP said: “I made backing measures to tackle illegal migration and to stop the boats a top priority this year, and I’ve once again delivered on that promise I made to my constituents by voting for the Rwanda Bill.

“We need an effective deterrent to stop the boats and to end the cruel trade of channel crossings – and this Bill, the toughest legislation ever introduced to tackle illegal immigration, will do just that.

“These new laws will make it unequivocally clear that, if you enter our country illegally, you will be detained and then removed to Rwanda. And we won’t allow foreign courts to block this policy".

The Prime Minister saw the Safety of Rwanda Bill pass its third reading in the House of Commons by a majority of 44 on Wednesday evening.

More than 60 Tory MPs had earlier supported an amendment designed to toughen the draft law, voting for a proposal designed to allow UK ministers to ignore emergency injunctions by European judges attempting to stop asylum seeker deportation flights to east Africa from taking off.

But Downing Street went into the third reading vote knowing it had seen off a potentially damaging defeat after the majority of rebels signalled they would back it even without any amendments being accepted.

The Bill will now move to the House of Lords where it is expected to face serious opposition.