THE Prime Minister has announced new ministerial positions after the resignation of immigration minister Robert Jenrick.
Sunak has split ministerial responsibility for legal and illegal migration as he replaced Jenrick ahead of an emergency press conference on Thursday morning.
Michael Tomlinson, who had been solicitor general for England and Wales since September 2022, will be the illegal migration minister in the Home Office and will also attend Cabinet.
Tom Pursglove, a minister for work and disabled people, will instead be the minister for legal migration and delivery in the Home Office.
Robert Courts, the Conservative MP for Witney, has replaced Tomlinson as solicitor general.
No replacement has been announced for Pursglove.
The moves come just minutes before an emergency press conference forced by the crisis Sunak is facing over his Rwanda policy – which was compounded by a claim from Suella Braverman that it is doomed to fail.
The former home secretary warned the Tories they are in a “perilous situation” on tackling small boat crossings after Jenrick’s resignation.
The immigration minister quit over Sunak’s new emergency legislation to revive the policy by declaring Rwanda a safe country after it was deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court.
Sunak’s decision not to go as far as overriding the European Convention on Human Rights has angered some hardliners, as the mood in the Conservative Party sours.
Braverman’s outspokenness on the issue and Jenrick’s (below) dramatic resignation signals a growing right-wing rebellion that could threaten Sunak’s premiership.
The draft bill unveiled on Wednesday 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.
Cabinet minister Chris Heaton-Harris attempted to play down Tory divisions.
Asked if the vote on the Safety of Rwanda Bill would be treated as a matter of confidence in the Prime Minister, the Northern Ireland Secretary told Sky News that was a decision for the whips but “I can’t see why it would need to be because I think all Conservatives will vote for it”.
Asked if the Prime Minister would face a confidence vote, Heaton-Harris told LBC: “I think it’s highly unlikely, very unlikely. I’d say vanishingly small.”
