Rwanda bill – live: Sunak’s immigration agenda to face Tory rebels in key vote

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Robert Jenrick resigns as immigration minister over Rwanda bill in huge blow to Rishi Sunak

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Senior Conservatives have urged their fellow Tory MPs to stop plotting against Rishi Sunak and back his Rwanda plan in a Commons vote this week which could deal a major blow to his premiership.

With the crucial vote hanging on a margin of 28 ballots, dozens of hardline Tories could be swayed by a so-called “star chamber” of lawyers, who gave their damning verdict on Sunday that Mr Sunak’s last-ditch legislation to get planes to Rwanda – following his Supreme Court defeat – is “not fit for purpose”.

Ex-Brexit minister David Davis accused Tory colleagues of exacerbating the crisis to boost their own leadership profiles, warning that those “who trade off their own future against the future of the party always lose”, while Iain Duncan Smith urged his party to “stop shouting and just literally discuss these things in a reasonable way”.

Some Tory MPs – described as “mad or malicious or both” by moderate Damian Green – were even reported to be planning an “Advent calendar of s***” for Mr Sunak and plotting the return of Boris Johnson on a “dream ticket” leadership bid with Nigel Farage.

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‘Weak Bill is not watertight'

Robert Jenrick, who resigned as immigration minister over the legislation, told the BBC on Sunday he will not support the “weak Bill that will not work”.

But he said “we can fix this”, raising the possibility he could abstain along with other opponents before trying to amend the legislation at a later stage.

That could spare the Prime Minister a damaging defeat during a perilous week that begins with a grilling at the official coronavirus inquiry.

Mark Francois, chairman of the European Research Group, has invited the New Conservatives and the Common Sense and Conservative Growth groups to hear Sir Bill Cash’s “forensic examination” at the Commons meeting.

“We then aim to have a collective discussion about our best approach to the second reading of the Bill, on Tuesday,” the MP said.

Sir Bill wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that the Bill is not “sufficiently watertight to meet the Government’s policy objectives”, but suggested it could be amended and fixed.

Sam Rkaina11 December 2023 00:011702249241

Sunak has spent weekend trying to quell rebellion

Mr Sunak and top ministers including Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron have been engaging with MPs over the weekend in order to quell any rebellion.

The Prime Minister has tried to find a middle ground in response to the Supreme Court finding that plans to send asylum seekers who arrive on small boats are unlawful.

But some on the right believe it does not go far enough in casting aside international law, while moderates have concerns about its legal impact and about ordering courts to deem Rwanda a “safe” country.

Mr Sunak has told MPs the Conservatives must “unite or die”, but it is unclear whether they will heed his warnings, as some of his possible successors court limelight.

Sam Rkaina10 December 2023 23:001702245641

Tory factions to hold summits over Sunak’s Rwanda Bill before crunch vote

Tory MPs from both wings of the bitterly divided party will convene to discuss their verdicts on Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda legislation in a major test for his leadership.

The European Research Group of hardline Brexiteers will first hold a summit on the measure to revive the asylum policy with other factions on the Conservative right on Monday.

Veteran MP Sir Bill Cash will present the findings of his so-called “star chamber” of lawyers, before they discuss how to vote on the Prime Minister’s Bill on Tuesday.

But Sir Bill has already signalled that they do not believe the proposed law is fit for purpose to get the grounded £290 million scheme up and running, as it stands.

Then the more moderate wing of One Nation Conservatives will hold a separate evening meeting in Parliament before releasing a statement on their judgment.

Sam Rkaina10 December 2023 22:001702242041

Three options government is considering to make Rwanda deportation plan work

Mr Sunak, under pressure from MPs on the right of his party to reduce migration to the UK, is said to be taking a three-pronged approach to make his Rwanda plan, which has already cost taxpayers £140m, viable.

The first part of that plan was for the UK to update its memorandum of understanding with Rwanda to a treaty. James Cleverly this week met with his counterpart, Vincent Biruta, to put pen to paper in a signing ceremony and to discuss key next steps on the so-called migration and economic development partnership.

The second part of the government’s plan was to effectively ignore or override the Supreme Court’s ruling by passing emergency legislation in parliament that would designate Rwanda as a safe country, in a highly controversial move that has been criticised by eminent legal professionals and experts.

The government is also said to be considering a third option: preparing a dossier of evidence designed to show that Rwanda is a safe country for asylum seekers to be sent to.

For more detail on the three options, and their flaws, click here.

Sam Rkaina10 December 2023 21:001702238441

Rishi Sunak locked outside No 10 with Mark Rutte in awkward moment

It’s fair to say Rishi Sunak has not had the best week.

Rebellions from his own party and rumblings of leadership challenges notwithstanding, he found himself literally locked out of Number 10 on Thursday.

The UK prime minister and his outgoing Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte were meeting in London for policy discussions.

Mr Rutte arrived to greet Mr Sunak and the pair posed for photographs as they shook hands.

Then Mr Sunak turned to open the door – only to find they were locked out.

They continue to chat as Mr Sunak attempted to push the door, before someone already inside eventually let them in.

Rishi Sunak locked outside No 10 with Mark Rutte in awkward moment

Rishi Sunak and Mark Rutte were locked outside of 10 Downing Street on Thursday, 7 December. The UK prime minister and his outgoing Dutch counterpart were meeting in London for policy discussions. Footage outside Number 10 shows Mr Rutte arriving to greet Mr Sunak. The pair pose for photographs as they shake hands, before Mr Sunak turns to open the door – and finds they are locked out. They continue to chat as Mr Sunak attempts to push the door, before someone already inside eventually lets them in.

Sam Rkaina10 December 2023 20:001702234841

Gove insists Sunak won’t call general election if he loses key Rwanda vote

Speaking earlier on Sunday, Michael Gove insisted the government was not thinking about launching a general election if it fails to get the Bill through parliament.

“No, we’re not contemplating that because I’m confident that when people look at the legislation and have a chance to reflect they will recognise this is a tough but also proportionate measure,” he told Sky.

He argued to the BBC that it is “legally sound” despite one legal assessment for the government giving it a “50 per cent at best” chance of success, and said it only leaves “narrow” scope for court appeals.

Sam Rkaina10 December 2023 19:001702231241

Rwanda president Paul Kagame like ‘Putin of Africa’, Bill Browder claims

The president of Rwanda “is like the Putin of Africa”, an anti-corruption campaigner who has taken on the Russian president has said.

Financier and political activist Bill Browder made the comparison between Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and Russian president Vladimir Putin on BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.

He was on the show to discuss emergency legislation which aims to rescue the Government’s plan to send asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda after the scheme was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court.

Mr Browder used the example of Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager hero on whom the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda was based.

Mr Rusesabagina was sentenced in 2021 to 25 years in prison in Rwanda on terrorism charges. He was released after serving two years and returned to the US, where he now lives.

“I know this story very intimately because, the hero of the movie Hotel Rwanda, the guy who saved 1,200 people during the genocide, he was critical of Paul Kagame,” Mr Browder said.

“He was then kidnapped, brought back to Rwanda and sentenced to 25 years in a trumped-up trial. The idea that we’re going to be sending political refugees to a country that’s like that is just absurd.”

Mr Browder added that the whole Rwanda migration plan should be “torn up”.

“The whole thing should be torn up and thrown out,” he said. “If we want to stop uncontrolled migration there are other ways, but Rwanda is just completely absurd.”

Sam Rkaina10 December 2023 18:001702228034

Rwanda bill only has 'narrow exemptions' for appeal against deportation, Gove says

Rwanda bill only has 'narrow exemptions' for appeal against deportation, Gove saysAndy Gregory10 December 2023 17:071702226834

‘It makes me feel sick’: Mixed nationality couples share their outrage at new Tory immigration plan

Thousands of mixed nationality couples face “sickening” uncertainty after new immigration legislation doubled the earning requirement for obtaining a spouse visa.

As part of the new five-step immigration plan, partners hoping to settle in the UK on a spouse visa will only be able to do so if their husband or wife is earning £38,700 – a £20,000 increase from the current figure of £18,700.

The new rules come into force in April, but the Home Office says those who are on a family visa of less than £38,700 will not be asked to immediately present their yearly salary, but it has not clarified what will unfold when they come to renew their visa.

The increase has sparked concern in many marriages, MP Nadia Whittome said: “Three-quarters of British workers won’t be able to get a visa for a spouse from abroad.”

My colleague Lydia Patrickhas spoken to families who fear they will be forced to leave the UK:

Mixed nationality couples share their outrage at the new Tory immigration plan

The Home Office’s latest immigration plan jeopardises the future of thousands of international families

Andy Gregory10 December 2023 16:471702224134

Sunak’s Rwanda plan is ‘strong meat’, says Gove

The government’s new Rwanda legislation is “strong meat”, Communities Secretary Michael Gove has said.

Mr Gove told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “It strikes out human rights legislation in a way that some people I know find strong meat.

“And it’s because the reaction from those who are critical of the Bill on one side is so clear, that I think that we can take it that this Bill is certainly the robust measure required.”

He added that it was “not correct” that everyone could make a claim under the new legislation.

Andy Gregory10 December 2023 16:02NewerOlder✕

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