06 December 2023 , 19:06
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Tory Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick dramatically resigned tonight as Rishi Sunak's plans to revive his stalled Rwanda deportation scheme descended into chaos.
Home Secretary James Cleverly confirmed Mr Jenrick had quit as wild rumours overshadowed his Commons statement about the Government's plans. An 'emergency' Bill published tonight gives ministers the powers to ignore sections of the UK's Human Rights Act to get the scheme off the ground.
But Mr Jenrick quit, fuming that it did not go far enough. After humiliating questions over whether he had resigned, Mr Cleverly finally told MPs: "That has been confirmed."
Mr Jenrick has cast himself as a standard bearer for the Tory right following Mrs Braverman's sacking last month. In a resignation letter, he told the Prime Minister he couldn't stay in post when he had "such strong disagreements with the direction of the Government's policy on immigration."
He branded Mr Sunak's bill "a triumph of hope over experience" which would be subject to a "merry-go-round of legal challenges which risk paralysing the scheme and negating its intended deterrent." Mr Jenrick, long seen as a political ally of Mr Sunak, who supported him in the leadership contest which saw him lose to Liz Truss, acknowledged they had "made progress tackling illegal migration."
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Robert Jenrick said he couldn't continue in post due to 'strong disagreements' with the Government's immigration policy
Robert Jenrick had long been seen as an ally of Rishi Sunak"However," he said. "We said that we would stop the boats altogether. That is what the public rightly demands and expects of us... The emergency legislation is the last opportunity to prove this, but in its current drafting it does not go far enough."
In a reply, Mr Sunak accused Mr Jenrick of having a “fundamental misunderstanding of the situation”.
He wrote: “Your resignation is disappointing given we both agree on the ends, getting flights off to Rwanda so that we can stop the boats… The Rwandan Government have been clear that they would not accept the UK basing this scheme on legislation that could be considered in breach of our international law obligations.
“There would be no point in passing a law that would leave us with nowhere to send people to.”
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Labour's Pat McFadden said the "latest chaotic chapter demonstrates why the country is ready for change". He added: "The British people deserve a Government that will fix the issues that matter to working people, not a Tory circus of gimmicks and leadership posturing."
The top Tory was conspicuously absent for the debate on the Government's new emergency legislation, which would compel judges to regard the East African nation as a safe country. The much-delayed plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda - first announced by Boris Johnson in April 2022 - were torpedoed by the Supreme Court last month, which said it was unlawful.
Mr Sunak angered Tory hardliners by stopping short of providing powers to dismiss the European Convention on Human Rights. And within an hour of the draft bill being published, a source close to sacked Home Secretary Suella Braverman had branded it "fatally flawed."
"It won't stop the boats," they said. "It is a further betrayal of Tory voters and the decent patriotic majority who want to see this insanity brought to an end."
Mr Cleverly states on the front page of the Bill, that he cannot guarantee that it is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Rwanda's foreign minister, Vincent Biruta, indicated it was the East-African nation who urged the UK to scale back the bill.
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"It has always been important to both Rwanda and the UK that our rule of law partnership meets the highest standards of international law, and it places obligations on both the UK and Rwanda to act lawfully," he said. "Without lawful behaviour by the UK, Rwanda would not be able to continue with the Migration and Economic Development Partnership."
Labour's Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told MPs: "You could not make this up. Our Supreme Court says the Rwanda scheme's a problem because of evidence that Rwanda isn't complying with international treaties on the treatment of asylum seekers. But the only thing stopping the British Government ignoring international law completely is the Rwandan government."
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman took aim at Rishi Sunak, prompting speculation of a leadership challenge (AFP via Getty Images)Speculation is mounting that Mr Sunak could face a leadership challenge - led by Ms Braverman - within days. Earlier, Ms Braverman had issued a public ultimatum to Mr Sunak - making stern demands of the new bill if he wanted to keep her support.
The former Home Secretary set out her red lines, warning the Conservative Party faced "electoral oblivion in a matter of months" if the plan fails. In words that many will seen as a challenge to Mr Sunak's leadership, she added: "I may not have always found the right words in the past, but I refuse to sit by and allow us to fail."
In a personal statement following her sacking, Ms Braverman also demanded the building of "nightingale" detention centres for asylum seekers, and for MPs to sit over Christmas in order to ram the Rwanda plan through Parliament. But complying with her demands could have left Mr Sunak facing resignations by as many as 10 moderate ministers.
Tory MPs from the centre-right One Nation group gave a cautious welcome to the draft legislation. In a statement, the group said: "We welcome the Government's decision to continue to meet the UK's international commitments which uphold the rule of law. We will be taking legal advice from the former solicitor-general Lord Garnier about concerns and the practicalities of the Bill."
Meanwhile the right-wing European Research Group (ERG) will assemble its so-called "star chamber" of lawyers to scrutinise the legislation before the Commons vote. Mr Sunak addressed a meeting of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives as he seeks to shore up support, with MPs from across the Tory spectrum including Theresa May and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg in attendance.
Mr Rees-Mogg said: "Initial reading is encouraging. But we are waiting for the legal advice". But one hardline MP, asked for his reaction, would only say: "I think you need to go and see Robert Jenrick."
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