Sunak fights to hold Tories together over Rwanda plan

Rishi Sunak was forced into a desperate defence of his new Rwanda asylum law as he battled to hold together the fractured Conservative party amid speculation that he could face a challenge to his own position.

- Pippa Crerar Kiran Stacey

The prime minister told an emergency Downing Street press conference that he would “finish the job” of getting his controversial deportation plan off the ground despite criticism from the Tory right and anxiety among centrist MPs.

The Tory party chair, Richard Holden, warned MPs it would be “insanity” to try to oust Sunak over the issue after the resignation of Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, and denials from Suella Braverman that she was spreading poison to get rid of him.

Sunak faces a rebellion on both flanks of his party as MPs consider whether to vote against the legislation when it comes to the Commons next week or to try to amend it.

Sunak said the vote would not be a “confidence matter”, giving Tory MPs who vote against it some leeway and meaning he will not be obliged by convention to stand down or call an election if he loses. With Labour having stated it will oppose the bill, it would take only 29 Tory MPs to vote it down.

Sunak's tetchy appearance in front of reporters followed a chaotic 24 hours after Jenrick quit, arguing that the proposed law did not go far enough and was a "triumph of hope over experience".

Sunak has staked his government's reputation on a plan to "stop the boats", so Jenrick's departure was a serious blow to his authority.

It comes amid speculation that more than a dozen Tory MPs are considering putting in letters to try to trigger a confidence vote in his leadership.

The emergency bill will give ministers the power to ignore some judgments from the European court of human rights relating to asylum, while stopping short of leaving or "disapplying" the European convention on human rights (ECHR) in its entirety.