London, Thanasis Gavos,

The UK prime minister finally avoided a damaging political defeat in the House of Commons on Tuesday night as MPs voted to continue the legislative process on the controversial bill to send irregular migrants to Rwanda.

The bill passed in this first legislative stage by a vote of 313 to 269, despite opposition from both the far-right and center-wing Conservative Party MPs.

However, as many as 37 Conservative MPs abstained, a move seen as a warning for the next stages of the legislative process.

Mr Sunak and his staff had spent Tuesday trying to win over potential “rebel” MPs. The main opposition Labor leader, Sir Keir Starmer, had said the prime minister would have to call an early election if he lost the vote.

The Rwanda Security Bill states that the African country is considered safe by London – and that this position binds the British courts, among others.

The bill was brought forward, alongside a new treaty between London and Kigali, after the High Court ruled in the British capital that Rwanda was not a safe third country.

The bill is being criticized as inadequate by the most right-wing Tories and as dangerously close to breaching the UK’s international obligations by the most moderate wing of Tory MPs.