PM bids to thwart Tory right over Rwanda policy

Rishi Sunak’s authority is under heightened threat after rebel MPs from the Tory right urged him to abandon his beleaguered Rwanda Bill, insisting it does not go far enough to block legal setbacks.

European Research Group chairman Mark Francois called on the prime minister to “pull” the legislation after lawyers convened by the caucus deemed it an “incomplete” solution to problems posed by small boat asylum claims.

The Bill, which Mr Sunak hopes will revive the stalled scheme to deport people crossing the English

Channel to Kigali, would need “very significant amendments” to work, the so-called “star chamber” of legal advisers concluded.

Following a summit of hardline Brexiteers from the ERG along with other camps on the Tory right, Mr Francois said: “It might be better to start again with a fresh Bill that is written on a different basis.”

Asked whether the proposal risked delaying the £290 million scheme even further, he told the PA news agency: “With the right will and a bit of overtime, that can be done comparatively quickly.

“That is infinitely preferable to powering on with a piece of legislation which at the end of the day is not fit for purpose.”

He refused to say whether he still had confidence in the prime minister, whose leadership is on the line if the Bill fails to gain enough support from Tory MPs.

No 10 insisted the legislation would go to a crunch vote as planned today but said it would continue to “listen carefully” to the views expressed by backbenchers.

Mr Sunak hopes to quell unrest in a breakfast meeting with members of the New Conservative group – among those on the right aligned with the criticism of the ERG – in Downing Street before the Cabinet meets.

A leading Tory rebel said: “The government is choosing to ignore advice from senior lawyers that there are good legal arguments for blocking off individual claims.

“Migrants can still make individual claims but these would continue in Rwanda. The government should ensure that only those who are under 18 or medically unfit to fly are exempt from removal.”