Rishi Sunak's election hopes suffered a major blow on Thursday as the Conservatives were hit by two political bombshells in the space of an hour.
In just 60 minutes the prime minister’s flagship “stop the boats” plan was ruled unlawful and it emerged seven of his MPs could be suspended from parliament as allies of Boris Johnson were accused of “disturbing” attacks on democracy.
As her government came under increasing pressure over its Rwanda policy, the home secretary Suella Braverman hit out by claiming the system was “rigged against the British people”.
There was also more misery in the mortgage market as even the average five-year fixed-rate loan edged closer to 6 per cent.
Labour sought to take advantage of the disarray, with Sir Keir Starmer accusing Mr Sunak of being “weak” and leading a “divided party that is incapable of governing”.
“At the moment you want the government to step it up, it’s sitting it out,” he said, “arguing about the behaviour of their own MPs… [while] it’s families that are paying the price.”
And senior Tories warned the prime minister he had to “deliver” on his pledges, including on small boats, before the next general election after disastrous local election results in June.
A potential hammer blow was delivered to the Rwanda plan to send those who arrive in the UK on small boats to Rwanda when the Court of Appeal concluded the African nation is not a safe country.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he ‘fundamentally’ disagrees with the Court of Appeal’s ruling that the Government’s Rwanda plan is unlawful— (PA Wire)
Mr Sunak said he “fundamentally disagreed” with the finding and would appeal to the Supreme Court, telling voters “your government … should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs”.
But flights will remain suspended ahead of the showdown and ministers do not expect any hearing to take place until the autumn at the earliest.
Just an hour before the bombshell ruling was announced, seven Tory MPs and a serving minister in Mr Sunak’s government were named in a damning report which accused Mr Johnson’s allies of a “coordinated campaign of interference” which put “unprecedented” pressure on the committee investigating if he lied to parliament over Partygate.
The committee said the Commons should consider whether the attacks could be considered a contempt of parliament and what further action to take.
Mr Johnson dramatically resigned as an MP earlier this month after the same committee recommended he face a lengthy suspension for contempt for misleading parliament repeatedly over Partygate.
But the findings immediately triggered another bout of Tory infighting.
Key Johnson ally Ms Dorries doubled down on her remarks, saying of the cross-party committee: “If they don’t want to be accused of being a kangaroo court, they should stop hopping so much.”
They should “put on their big girl and boy pants and stop crying about hurty words”, she added.
Suella Braverman doubled down on her support for the plan in the Commons despite the ruling— (Parliament TV)
Brendan Clarke-Smith, who had commented that the committee was worthy of a “banana republic”, said the findings raised “serious questions about free speech in a democratic society”.
Another Tory named in the report, the peer Lord Cruddas, also said the committee should “hop less”. The prime minister is facing calls to sack or at least condemn Foreign Office minister Lord Goldsmith, one of those named and shamed in the report. But in what will be seen as a sign of the tensions within the Conservative Party over the issue, Downing Street declined to criticise those MPs cited.
Other pressures bubbled to the surface as Ms Braverman came under pressure from Conservative MPs over the party’s failure to deliver the Rwanda policy.
Mr Sunak has explicitly told voters to judge him on his pledge to halt the flow of small boats from France.
Conservative MP Aaron Bell told Ms Braverman: “My constituents in Newcastle-under-Lyme expect us to stop the boats.”
A senior Tory MP told The Independent the party risked losing the faith of those who wanted to see migrants sent to Rwanda, while, at the same time, alienating leaving so-called “polite Tories” who abhor the idea.
And a former Tory No 10 adviser Tim Montgomerie warned that even if Jesus Christ returned to Earth and became Tory leader “the Conservative Party is doomed at the next election”.
In response, Ms Braverman lashed out at what she called “phoney humanitarianism” hindering efforts to stop Channel crossings.
Conservative MPs including ex-ministers Sir Edward Leigh and Mark Francois suggested the UK seeks a derogation from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to assist in deportation efforts.
A government source said: “The government is committed to delivering on its five priorities- halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing debt, cutting waiting lists and stopping the boats.”
