Robert Jenrick quits as Immigration Minister in revolt over PM’s Rwanda deal

Rishi Sunak was rocked by a Cabinet resignation last night after urging his party to “unite or die” over his plan to send Channel boat migrants to Rwanda.

Robert Jenrick dramatically stood down as Immigration Minister hours after the Prime Minister had unveiled emergency legislation to get ­deportation flights to Africa in the air by the spring.

Mr Sunak described the draft Bill, which gives him the power to overrule meddling European judges, as the “toughest immigration ­legislation ever”.

He insisted the radical package, combined with a new beefed-up treaty with Rwanda, was necessary to crack the migrant crisis.

But Mr Jenrick argued the proposal does not provide “the best possible chance of success” and insisted he could not support it.

Don’t miss… Robert Jenrick’s full resignation letter as immigration minister quits

In his resignation letter to the PM, Mr Jenrick said: “I cannot continue in my position when I have such strong disagreements with the direction of the Government’s policy on immigration.”

He said the small boats crisis was doing “untold damage” to the country.

Mr Jenrick added: “I am unable to take the currently proposed legislation through the Commons as I do not believe it provides us with the best possible chance of success.

“A Bill of the kind you are proposing is a triumph of hope over experience. The stakes for the country are too high for us not to pursue the stronger protections required to end the merry-go-round of legal challenges which risk paralysing the scheme and negating its intended deterrent.”

The proposal does not go as far as providing powers to dismiss the European Convention on Human Rights, as hardliners including sacked home secretary Suella Braverman have demanded.

Mrs Braverman’s allies made clear that the Bill is “fatally flawed”.

But the PM seemed to have appeased Tory moderates yesterday, with the One Nation group of MPs welcoming his decision.

Mr Sunak also had a meeting with the influential 1922 Tory Committee. According to one attendee, Mr Sunak repeatedly used the phrase “unite or die” – a line he used when he first became PM.

Attempting to head off a Tory row over the new legislation, Mr Sunak last night told his MPs: “It is this Bill or it is nothing.”

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He said: “I have been unequivocal that we can no longer tolerate the endless scourge of illegal migration on our country.

“It is costing us billions of pounds and costing innocent lives, and that is why we are taking action to put a stop to it and make clear once and for all that it is Parliament that should decide who comes to this country, not criminal gangs.

“Through this new landmark emergency legislation, we will control our borders, deter people taking perilous journeys across the Channel and end the continuous legal challenges filling our courts.

“And we will disapply sections of the Human Rights Act from the key parts of the Bill, specifically in the case of Rwanda, to ensure our plan cannot be stopped.”

The draft Bill compels judges to treat Rwanda as a safe country after the Supreme Court ruled the scheme was unlawful over risks to refugees.

The legislation, which must be voted on by Parliament, gives ministers the powers to disregard sections of the Human Rights Act.

It will also let ministers override European Court of Human Rights edicts to block planes from taking off, like the one grounded at the last minute in 2022.

Mr Sunak will face his first test on the move next week when MPs are expected to have their initial vote.

He will then battle to get it through Parliament as soon as possible, with some MPs even calling to sit over Christmas to get it done. Mr Sunak met Tory MPs behind closed doors for 45 minutes last night in a bid to win them over.

A number of Right-wing Tories appeared to welcome the proposals, saying it was “encouraging”.

Tory Party Deputy Chairman Lee Anderson said the Prime Minister “issued a bit of a rallying cry to unite”.

But a source close to Mrs Braverman made clear that the Bill “doesn’t come close” to meeting her tests, arguing asylum seekers will still be able to make human rights appeals against removals.

The ally said: “It is fatally flawed. It will be bogged down in the courts for months and months. And it won’t stop the boats. It is a further betrayal of Tory voters and the patriotic majority who want to see this insanity brought to an end.”

In a reply to Mr Jenrick, Mr Sunak thanked him for his efforts but insisted the Rwanda policy would work.

He wrote: “Your resignation is disappointing given we both agree on the ends, getting flights off to Rwanda so that we can stop the boats. I fear that your departure is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation. It is our experience that gives us confidence that this will work.”

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