UK government offers concessions over contested immigration plan

FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak onboard Border Agency cutter HMC Seeker, ahead of a press conference to update the nation on the progress made in the six months since he introduced the Illegal Migration Bill under his plans to "stop the boats", during a visit to Dover, Britain. Picture date: Monday June 5, 2023. Yui Mok/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government offered concessions on Monday to members of parliament's upper house after they inflicted a series of defeats on highly contested legislation to make it easier to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Under an initial 140-million-pound ($180 million) deal struck last year, Britain planned to send tens of thousands of asylum seekers who arrive on its shores a distance of more than 4,000 miles (6,400 km) to the East African country.