Robert Jenrick’s resignation over Rwanda ‘deeply worrying’

The resignation of Robert Jenrick over Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda Bill is “deeply worrying”, Conservative MPs have warned amid concerns about the direction of the Government.

Mr Jenrick quit as immigration minister on Wednesday as he warned that emergency legislation to secure asylum deportation flights represented a “triumph of hope over experience”.

In response, Mr Sunak accused his former Cabinet colleague – who was once one of his closest political allies – of misunderstanding the new law.

Mr Jenrick’s dramatic departure has plunged the Prime Minister into a fresh crisis over migration, with some on the Tory Right expressing their concerns about the fact the minister with responsibility for helping to deliver the new measures had instead opted to quit.

On Wednesday night, Sir Simon Clarke, a former Cabinet minister, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Very sorry – and concerned – to see Rob Jenrick leave government this evening.

“He understands totally the strength of public feeling on this issue. [The question] now is simply will this legislation work.”

Earlier in the day, Mark Francois, the chairman of the European Research Group made up of Brexiteer MPs on the Right of the Tory party, had told MPs: “If the immigration minister, who is a good man, has resigned over this Bill, that is deeply worrying.”

Dame Andrea Jenkyns, who last month became the first Tory MP to go public with a letter of no confidence in Mr Sunak, argued on Thursday that the party was in need of a fresh start.

Dame Andrea, a former private secretary to Mr Jenrick, said: “I was Robert’s PPS during the days of lockdown when he was the housing secretary. I saw how strong he could be against the Civil Service, and he’s a very smart guy. He would not have misunderstood anything.

“I think this whole policy is just kicking the can down the road, and I will defer to the ‘star chamber’, the group of lawyers who will be looking over this.”

The “star chamber” is made up of legal experts and chaired by Sir Bill Cash, the veteran senior Brexiteer and Tory MP for Stone.

It has reconvened to examine Mr Sunak’s proposals and will deliver its verdict on the Rwanda law in “days not weeks”, having previously examined the UK-EU trade deal struck by Boris Johnson and the Withdrawal Agreement reached by Theresa May.

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