Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, said the government would do "whatever is necessary", even if that meant pulling out of the ECHR, the 70-year-old pan-European treaty that protects human rights and political freedoms in the continent.
His comments are an escalation of the government's previous position that leaving the ECHR was not an immediate step it was going to take. It has insisted it can deliver on Rishi Sunak's pledge to "stop the boats" while remaining within the convention.
However, as the general election approaches, the Conservatives could heighten their rhetoric against the ECHR to create a dividing line with Labour. Senior MPs have told the BBC they think Sunak could fight a campaign pledging to leave.
The Law Society, the professional body for solicitors in England and Wales, said small boat crossings by asylum seekers "will not be tackled by leaving an extremely successful international agreement designed to protect individual rights and support political stability".
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