Rwanda bill vote live: deal is not our problem, says President Kagame

Rishi Sunak is facing the toughest test of his premiership as MPs vote later on his bid to save the government’s Rwanda policy.

The tougher immigration measures aimed at tackling the small boats crisis form the core of Sunak’s election strategy, but the proposals have sparked the resignation a deputy chairman of the party, Lee Anderson, who said they did not go far enough.

Voters will not forgive MPs if they fail to approve legislation that helps to stop small boats crossing the Channel, according to former home secretary Suella Braverman (Peter Chappell writes). “We have stretched the patience of the British people. But this comes down to a very simple but profound question ultimately of who governs Britain?

She asks whether “democratically elected representatives who have been directly sent here on behalf of the British people” run the country or a court that “does not share our values”.

• What is stopping Rwanda flights? The key legal hurdles explained

Braverman said the European Court of Human Rights was “controlling this country’s ability to stop the boats”, adding: “We are being governed by a foreign court and judges who do not have our interests at heart. The decisions coming from that court are stopping us from controlling our borders.”

She said she would be voting for Robert Jenrick’s amendment to block all attempted injunctions at the vote this evening.

Rwanda rows back on refund pledge

The Rwandan government has issued a clarification over whether it would pay money back to the UK if no migrants are sent under the scheme (Matt Dathan writes). Yolande Makolo, the Rwandan government’s chief spokesperson, said that under the terms of the deal there was “no obligation” to return any of the £240 million paid so far.

However, she insisted that if no migrants were relocated to Rwanda and the UK requested a refund, “we will consider this request”. Makolo added: “To talk about figures at this point is premature as we are still awaiting the conclusion of the UK legislative process and remain committed to making the partnership work.”

Scotland doesn’t want this bill, says SNP MP

Joanna Cherry, the Edinburgh South West MP, pointed out that “nobody in the UK voted for this because the policy wasn’t in the government’s manifesto”

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The people of Scotland object to the Rwanda bill, Joanna Cherry, the SNP MP, said (Peter Chappell writes). In her amendments, the Edinburgh South West MP is seeking to prevent the bill from applying to Scotland without the legislative consent of the Scottish parliament.

Speaking in the Commons, Cherry said: “People in Scotland don’t want it, they didn’t vote for it.“In fact actually nobody in the UK voted for this because the policy wasn’t in the government’s manifesto. In contrast to England and Wales, you won’t find any opinion polls carried out in Scotland which support this bill.”

Rebels claim to have alternative bill

Leading Tory rebels have frantically attempted to shore up numbers by briefing that they have drafted an alternative Rwanda bill if they succeed in defeating the government’s bill (Matt Dathan writes). It is designed to rebuff claims put out by government whips that defeating the bill tonight will kill off any hope of sending flights to Rwanda before the election. Parliamentary rules dictate that the House of Commons cannot consider a defeated bill for a second time in the same parliamentary session.

But Sir Simon Clarke, one of the leading rebels, insisted their alternative legislation would be “substantially different” and would pass that test. The rebels say their alternative bill has been drafted with the help of their own lawyers but have not disclosed who they are.

Accept Rwanda’s offer to pay back money, Cooper urges

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said: “If Rwanda says we can have the money back from this failing scheme, Rishi Sunak should seize the chance”

AMER GHAZZAL/ALAMY

Labour has urged Rishi Sunak to “seize the chance” and accept the president of Rwanda’s offer to pay the money back for the migrant deportation scheme.

Responding to Paul Kagame’s comments, Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said: “If Rwanda says we can have the money back from this failing scheme, Rishi Sunak should seize the chance, instead of dragging out this Tory asylum chaos any longer. We need a proper grip, not more of this failing gimmick.”

Britain has paid £240 million to Rwanda for the scheme so far and there are commitments to pay a further £150 million under the five-year agreement.

Bill is as tough as it can be, No 10 insists

The government’s Rwanda bill is “as tough as it can be while keeping the Rwandans in the scheme”, Downing Street said this afternoon (Peter Chappell writes).

“We think this bill is extremely tough,” said the prime minister’s spokeswoman. “[It] is as tough as it can be while keeping the Rwandans in the scheme. We don’t want to do something which means that they wouldn’t participate so we would have nowhere to send people.

“We think this is the best way forward, [to] deliver action quickly.”

Cameron admits Rwanda bill is ‘unorthodox’

David Cameron in Davos

DENIS BALIBOUSE/REUTERS

The prime minister’s Rwanda bill is “unorthodox” but it will clear the House of Commons, the foreign secretary has insisted (Kieran Gair writes).

Lord Cameron said that he was “confident” the bill will pass its third reading vote in the House of Commons despite the “unorthodox” nature of the policy.

Seeking to champion the legislation before an audience in Davos, Lord Cameron stressed the need for “out-of-the-box thinking” to tackle illegal migration.

Seven Tories confirmed as Rwanda rebels

There are now seven Tory MPs who have confirmed they expect to vote against the bill. They are: Simon Clarke, Suella Braverman, Marco Longhi, Nick Fletcher, Sarah Dines, Miriam Cates, Danny Kruger (Aubrey Allegretti writes).

Rebels include Miriam Cates, second left, Danny Kruger, third left and Marco Longhi, fourth left

YUI MOK/PA

Rebels say party unity is not top priority

Two leading Tory rebels have joined the small number of MPs to so far declare they are primed to vote against the Rwanda bill (Aubrey Allegretti writes).

Danny Kruger and Miriam Cates, co-leaders of the New Conservatives group, said that unless ministers make compromises, they “intend to vote against this bill at third reading tonight”.

In a swipe at critics, Kruger and Cates said that party unity should not be prized above all else. They said: “What actually matters is delivering for our constituents and country. The doomed pursuit of unity as an end in itself will mean nothing if, as we sadly anticipate, this bill fails to deliver on the promises we have made to those who send us here.”

Ministers ‘powerless to ignore European court injunctions’

Robert Jenrick called on colleagues to back his amendments

GUILHEM BAKER FOR THE TIMES

The attorney general informed immigration ministers they were powerless to ignore European court injunctions, Robert Jenrick has told the Commons during the Rwanda debate (Peter Chappell writes).

He says the bill in its current form allows ministers to decide whether to comply with Rule 39 orders, where European judges step in at the last moment to stop deportation flights.

But Victoria Prentice, the attorney general, told ministers that they would be in risk of breaking the law and would be a breach of the ministerial code.

“Were that situation to continue, as night follows day, we’ll find ourselves in exactly the same situation we were in in the summer of 2022”, he said. Jenrick, who resigned from the government during a previous reading of the bill, implored MPs to accept his amendment to block injunctions.

Sketch: Sunak shouts into the silence

Rishi Sunak brought a prop with him to this week’s PMQs, which is against parliamentary rules (Tom Peck writes).

It was a little pamphlet called “European Human Rights Law” and it was written by Keir Starmer. He had a prepared attack line to go with it, which nobody heard because the moment he produced said prop, his microphone was cut so that the speaker could tell him he was breaking the rules.

He shouted into the silence. Quite how knowledge of human rights law has come, in British politics, to be something you can be attacked for is something the prime minister has accidentally left the rest of us to try and work out for ourselves.

Mainly, they argued about Rwanda, which was scheduled for six more hours of debate straight after PMQs (Tom Peck writes).

Starmer wanted know more about the recent government admission that they have lost track of 85 per cent of the 5,000 people currently earmarked for deportation there. “He hasn’t got a clue where they are, has he,” he said. “I can tell you one place they aren’t and that’s Rwanda.”

On Sunak’s part, it was intriguing to notice that three of his six replies to Keir Starmer ended with him saying that Labour will take us “back to square one.” He has been saying this for a while now, it is clearly being worked up as some kind of election soundbite.

To go back to square one is a very old term from radio football commentary. It means to meekly pass the ball back to the defence, to lose momentum, to have to start again. For it to work, Sunak will have to convince the voters that huge progress is being made, they’re on the front foot, bearing down on goal and they would be mad to want to turn back now. That doesn’t quite seem to be in keeping with the mood of the nation.

Kagame: limits to how long uncertainty can continue

President Kagame of Rwanda has warned that there are “limits” to how long the uncertainty over the government’s deal with the country can “drag on”.

Kagame, speaking to reporters in Davos, said that he would be happy for the scheme to be scrapped entirely and that it was the “UK’s problem not ours”.

Asked what the money already given to Rwanda will be spent on, he said: “The money is going to be used on those people who will come. If they don’t come we can return the money.”

Analysis: Starmer exploits Tory divisions

The Conservative Party’s divisions on the PM’s flagship Rwanda policy has been used time and time again as ammunition by Sir Keir Starmer (Matt Dathan writes).

Today was no different, with the leader of the opposition winning loud applause from his benches with a colourful putdown, comparing Tory infighting to “hundreds of bald men scrapping over a broken comb”.

The government’s failure to enact the Rwanda policy continues to give Starmer ammunition in other ways. He picked up on reports that the government has lost contact with 85 per cent of the 5,000 earmarked for removal to Rwanda.

Starmer’s shots at Sunak are part of a broader narrative — that the prime minister is leaving Britain a less united and sadder country.

Rwanda deal is not our problem, says country’s president

President Kagame in Davos

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/GETTY

The president of Rwanda Paul Kagame said it was the “UK’s problem” if the Supreme Court ruled that his country was not safe.

In response to questions put to him by the BBC in Davos, the controversial leader was asked if the British migrant deal was working.

“Ask the UK. It’s the UK’s problem, not Rwanda’s problem,” he said.

“It’s going to be used on those people who [have] already come [to Rwanda]”, he added. “If they don’t come, we can return the money”.

Sunak has previously warned that he needs to stick to his current Rwanda plans because if they breach international law Kagame will pull out of the agreement.

Tories have left Britain a ‘sadder place’

The UK is less united after 14 years of Tory government, Starmer alleged

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Keir Starmer accused Rishi Sunak of leaving the UK a “less united” and “sadder place” after 60 of his MPs rebelled against his flagship Rwanda policy last night.

The Labour leader pointed out that Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, does not believe the Rwanda plan will work and James Cleverly, her replacement, called the policy “batshit”.

Starmer said: “Last week, another of his MPs said the Tories should admit that things have got worse since they came to office. But after 14 years, they’ve left Britain less united, the country is a sadder place.”

Rwanda policy ‘has already cost £400m’

Starmer accused Sunak of spending £400 million of taxpayers’ money on the Rwandan scheme despite not deporting “a single person”.

He said the prime minister “hasn’t got a clue” about the whereabouts of thousands of migrants earmarked for deportation to Rwanda.

Sunak hit back by insisting that the government had removed over 20,000 people from the UK back to their home countries over the last year, reduced small boats crossings and carried out 70 per cent more illegal enforcement raids.

Tory Rwanda infighting ‘like bald men scrapping over a comb’

Keir Starmer has likened Tory wars over the Rwanda policy as “hundreds of bald men scrapping over a single broken comb” as he accused Rishi Sunak of wasting hundreds of millions of pounds on the scheme.

The Labour leader picked up on reports last week that revealed Sunak had considered scrapping the Rwanda policy during the 2022 Tory leadership race and had forced Boris Johnson to scale back the scheme when he was chancellor.

Starmer said: “For all the work, the ridiculous thing is we know the prime minister himself doesn’t even believe in this Rwanda gimmick.”

PM admonished for using a prop

Sunak responds to the leader of the opposition

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The Speaker has admonished the prime minister for producing a prop at the dispatch box. Sunak held up a “textbook” called “European Human Rights Law” allegedly authored by Starmer for “left lawyers” taking immigration cases.

“When I stand up, please sit down”, Lindsay Hoyle told Sunak. “If you do need reminding, I certainly will”, he said.

Sunak said he intended to “grip the problem” and said “eminent” lawyers and judges endorsed the plan.

Starmer added it was nonsense and that the prime minister himself does not believe in his policy. “Why on earth should anyone else think differently?” Starmer jibed.

Sunak: We’ve removed over 20,000 people from this country

Starmer questions Sunak in the Commons

Sir Keir Starmer said: “The government has been forced to admit that it has lost contact with 85 per cent of the 5,000 people earmarked for removal to Rwanda. Has he found them yet?”

Rishi Sunak replied: “What I can tell [Sir Keir] is that in spite of him blocking every single attempt that we have taken we have managed now because of our actions to reduce the number of people coming here by over a third last year, remove over 20,000 people from this country back to their home countries, carried out 70 per cent more illegal enforcement raids, arrested hundreds of people, closed down thousands of bank accounts and processed over 100,000 cases, the biggest number in over 20 years.

“That’s because on this side of the House we want to stop the boats, we have a plan, it’s working, and with him we would just go back to square one.”

Starmer: How have ministers lost contact with thousands due to be deported?

MPs are getting the chance to grill Sunak at prime minister’s questions now in the Commons ahead of the Rwanda vote this evening.

Labour leader Keir Starmer uses his first question to ask how the government has lost contact with thousands of people due to being deported. “Where are the 4,250 people the government has lost?”, Starmer demanded.

Sunak said the government has conducted 70 per cent more illegal migration raids this year. “It’s crystal clear he doesn’t have a plan and it’ll be back to square one”, replied the prime minister.

Rishi Sunak suffered the biggest revolt of his 15 months as prime minister when 60 right-wing Conservative MPs rebelled against the government’s Rwanda bill and two deputy party chairmen resigned.

Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith, both red wall MPs, quit after backing amendments that aimed to toughen up the Safety of Rwanda Bill. In a joint letter to the prime minister they suggested that the legislation would not work in its present form.

Jane Stevenson, a parliamentary private secretary in Kemi Badenoch’s business and trade department, also resigned after joining the rebellion. Simon Hart, the chief whip, had made clear before the vote that the position of any member of the government would be “untenable” if they backed the amendments.

Sunak hit back by insisting that the government had removed over 20,000 people from the UK back to their home countries over the last year, reduced small boats crossings and carried out 70 per cent more illegal enforcement raids.He claimed Starmer would “just go back to square one” if he was elected prime minister.