Tory MP Simon Clarke vows to vote against Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda policy
Rishi Sunak has been dealt a major blow as two Tory deputy chairmen have vowed to join a mounting rebellion over his flagship Rwanda plan ahead of a crunch vote on the policy.
The Prime Minister is staging a last-ditch bid to win over more than 60 right-wing Conservative MPs who are threatening to defeat his immigration legislation, which returns to the House of Commons on Tuesday for six hours of debate and voting.
Tory deputy chairmen Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith are poised to back rebel amendments to the bill, which seek to disapply international law and curtail asylum seekers’ rights to appeal against flights to Kigali.
But any attempt by Mr Sunak to placate them would be opposed by more moderate Tories, who are keen to protect the legislation against breaches of international law.
The UNHCR said the modified Rwanda scheme “does not meet the required standards relating to the legality and appropriateness of the transfer of asylum seekers”.
