ROBERT Jenrick has published his resignation letter after quitting his role as immigration minister.
In the statement released on Wednesday evening, Jenrick criticised the Prime Minister Rishi sunak for not going “far enough” in his bid to pass legislation allowing the government to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.
A draft bill of the revived policy was published earlier in the day.
However, while it gave ministers the powers to disregard sections of the Human Rights Act, it did not go as far as allowing the government to dismiss the European Convention on Human Rights – a step Jenrick and others on the hard-right of the party claim is necessary.
“It is with great sadness that I write to tender my resignation as Minister for Immigration. I cannot continue in my position when I have strong disagreements with the direction of the Government’s policy on immigration," wrote Jenrick.
“As you know, I have been pushing for the strongest possible piece of emergency legislation to ensure that under the Rwanda policy we remove as many small boat arrivals, as swiftly as possible, to generate the greatest deterrent effect.
It is with great sadness that I have written to the Prime Minister to tender my resignation as Minister for Immigration. I cannot continue in my position when I have such strong disagreements with the direction of the Government’s policy on immigration. pic.twitter.com/Zg3ezFJr8t
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) December 6, 2023
“This stems from my firmly held position that the small boats crisis is a national emergency that is doing untold damage to our country, and the only way we will be able to stop the boats completely is by urgently introducing a major new deterrent.
“I have therefore consistently advocated for a clear piece of legislation that severely limits the opportunities for domestic and foreign courts to block or undermine the effectiveness of the policy.
“One of the great advantages of our unwritten constitution is the unfettered power of our sovereign parliament to create law, and that is a power we must take full advantage of.
“The Government has a responsibility to place our vital national interests above highly contested interpretations of international law.
“In our discussions on the proposed emergency legislation you have moved towards my position, for which I am grateful.
“Nevertheless, 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 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.”
Jenrick goes onto claim the emergency legislation “does not go far enough”.
“However, we said that we would stop the boats altogether.
“That is what the public rightly demands and expects of us. We must truly mean that we will do ‘whatever it takes’ to deliver this commitment when we say so.
“This emergency legislation is the last opportunity to prove this, but in its current drafting it does not go far enough.”
Sunak later wrote back to Jenrick to tell him his resignation was “disappointing”.
“I fear that your departure is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation," he said.
“It is our experience that gives us confidence that this will work.
“If we were to oust the courts entirely, we would collapse the entire scheme.”
