Rishi Sunak’s premiership has been rocked by the resignation of immigration minister Robert Jenrick after the Prime Minister failed to appease the Tory right-wingers with emergency Rwanda legislation.
Home Secretary James Cleverly has introduced a bill in the House of Commons to “repeal” the UK Human Rights Act to stop British judges blocking the deportation of asylum seekers.
But the embattled Conservative leader was unable to prevent a rebellion from MPs on the party’s right wing who were angry that the Prime Minister had chosen not to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
In his scathing resignation letter, Mr Jenrick told Mr Sunak that he did not believe the new bill “gives us the best possible chance of success” in removing flights to Rwanda.
The hard-liner has made it clear that he wants to bypass the ECHR, revealing that he is “demanding the strongest possible bill” that would “put national interests above highly controversial interpretations of international law”.
Labor has said the latest “chaotic episode” in the Conservative Party infighting shows why it is time for a change of power. The Liberal Democrats said Mr Sunak had lost control of the government because another minister was “escaping a sinking ship”.
Mr Sunak now faces the almost impossible task of winning votes from both the Conservative right, which wants a “full-scale” crackdown on the ECHR, and moderate MPs in the ‘One Nation’ group, who have warned they cannot support laws that disregard human rights law. .
Adding to the Prime Minister’s woes, sacked home secretary Suella Braverman also launched a scathing attack on Mr Sunak, warning he faced “electoral oblivion” if he failed to scrap flights to Rwanda before the next election.
The new Sunak bill includes provisions to remove relevant sections of the Human Rights Act so that they cannot be included in court decisions in deportation cases, but does not seek to override the ECHR.
But the legislation will allow UK ministers to “retain the decision whether to comply” with provisional orders from the European Court of Human Rights, the Strasbourg body that oversees the ECHR.
Another headache for Mr Sunak was the Rwandan government’s immediate response to the move, warning that the UK could withdraw from the deal if it did not comply with the “highest standards of international law”.
The African country’s foreign minister, Vincent Biruta, warned: “Without the UK’s lawful behavior, Rwanda would not have been able to continue with the Partnership for Migration and Economic Development.”
Mr Sunak defended his plans at a showdown meeting of the 1922 Tory Committee on Wednesday evening, but failed to get the right-wingers on his side.
A source close to Ms. Braverman made clear that the bill does not come close to meeting her tests. “Fatally flawed,” the ally said. “This is a new betrayal of Conservative Party voters.”
Some Conservative right-wingers lodged letters of no confidence in Mr Sunak on Wednesday, according to ITV. Right-wing former minister Andrea Jenkyns, an ardent supporter of Boris Johnson, said Mr Jenrick’s resignation “could be the death knell for Sunak’s leadership”.
Dozens of right-wingers, including members of the 35-strong New Conservatives, the Common Sense Group and the European Research Group, met again on Wednesday evening to decide whether they could vote for the new bill.
Independent understands that many are unhappy with the “middle ground” option for implementing the Human Rights Act. A senior MP said the bill would serve “no purpose” unless it prevented challenges at the ECHR.
The Prime Minister had been warned that if he used emergency legislation to bypass the ECHR he would face an even more damaging rebellion with the possible resignation of up to 10 moderate ministers.
Senior Tory moderate Damian Green, chairman of the One Nation group, which boasts the support of nearly 100 MPs, warned Mr Sunak that he “should think twice before overriding both the ECHR and the HRA”.
A spokesman for One Nation said it welcomed the government’s decision to adhere to “international commitments” but was now seeking legal advice on whether it could support the bill.
The front page of the legislation acknowledges that the government cannot say whether the bill is compatible with the ECHR; This acceptance may make moderates uneasy about voting for the law in the parliament in the coming critical days.
The new foreign secretary, David Cameron, said he was “saddened” by Mr Jenrick’s resignation. But he defended the “comprehensive” Rwanda bill, claiming it would “put this policy beyond doubt” and enable flights to resume.
In his exit letter, Mr Jenrick told the Conservative Party leader that he refused to become “another politician who made promises to the British public on immigration but broke them”.
Home Secretary Laura Farris first confirmed Mr Jenrick had resigned after failing to appear in the House of Commons to support the bill. Mr Cleverly then asked MPs about the resignation: “That’s confirmed.”
Another surprise was when Ms Braverman made a formal resignation speech in the House of Commons. He suggested that previous ‘boat stop’ legislation should be scrapped in favor of “a more robust alternative that excludes international and human rights laws”.
The Tory hardliner also attacked the “broad human rights laws” from the ECHR that halted flights to Rwanda. Ms Braverman also said it was “no secret” that she supported leaving the ECHR altogether.
His bitter outburst last month was followed by an unusually personal statement to the House of Commons. A similar speech by Geoffrey Howe following his resignation in the House of Commons in 1990 was often credited with the end of Margaret Thatcher’s political career.
This came despite the government claiming the new bill would “clearly prevent the courts from challenging the fact that Rwanda is safe”. Mr Sunak insisted his new legislation would ensure the Rwanda plan was “unstoppable”.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Cleverly said the bill was “legal, fair and necessary”. The interior minister told MPs that the government was determined to quickly pass the emergency law through parliament. He also denied Labor’s claims that Rwanda was cowed by “toxicity”.
Britain’s top court last month blocked the Rwanda policy over concerns that genuine refugees could be mistakenly sent back to their countries of origin and face persecution.
Bar Council president Nick Vineall KC said the new bill was still “likely to give rise to legal challenges” over planned deportations, adding that the law “reserves the right of the courts to decide whether Rwanda is a safe country.”