Rwanda bill LIVE: Rishi Sunak dealt major blow as three Tory MPs QUIT over deportation row amid policy vote

The government was never in danger of losing the votes outright this evening, as Labour does not support the rebel moves.

But the size of the rebellion is catastrophic for Rishi Sunak’s authority, and he must now decide whether to cave or up the ante and make the vote a confidence issue.

He has made ‘stopping the boats’ a key plank of his pitch for a general election due to happen by the end of the year.

The existential threat to the Bill will come tomorrow when it is due to have its third reading, the last Commons stage.

With Labour set to vote against at that point, rebels could be able to crash the flagship legislation, plunging Mr Sunak into chaos.

Anderson quit this evening as deputy Tory chairman before voting against the Government on Rwanda amendments.

Reform’s Richard Tice invited Anderson to join his party.

However, Mr Anderson told GB News: ‘I still think the Conservative Party is the best party moving forward to get us out of this mess.

‘It’s very kind of Richard but the best way forward to solve this problem is a strong Conservative Party with strong MPs like myself.’

The former deputy chair of the party resigned tonight, telling Rishi Sunak he was supporting rebel efforts to toughen the Bill in order to be ‘consistent’.

After the votes tonight, he told GB News: ‘I don’t think I would carry on in my role when I fundamentally disagree with the bill.

‘I think most of the bill is sound but we needed it beefing up, strengthening over the next few days.

‘Small boats are coming. I want to see a situation where anybody who arrives illegally in this country has no right at all to claim asylum, an appeal and no right to disappear into the country.’

Pat McFadden MP, Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator, said: ‘Rishi Sunak is too weak to lead his party and too weak to lead the country.

‘These resignations show that even senior Tories think that the Conservatives have failed and is yet more evidence of the total Tory chaos over their failing Rwanda gimmick – yet they are still making the taxpayer pay the extortionate price.

‘After 14 years of Tory failure it is time for a change and the general election can’t come soon enough. Labour would crack down on the criminal smuggling gangs, reverse the collapse in returns with a new Returns Unit, and end hotel use which is costing the taxpayer billions.’

The Tory rebel told Sky News she was ‘prepared to consider that in principle’.

However, she said there was still a lot of debating on more amendments to come ahead of a potential third reading tomorrow.

Jane Stevenson has resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

It came after she voted for amendments to the government’s Rwanda bill.

She said: ‘I have offered my resignation as a PPS this evening. I don’t consider my votes to have been anti-Govt, but they do warrant resignation.’

In a second post, responding to journalist Robert Peston, she added: ‘I believe global frameworks are outdated and need revision to be fit for a very different world.

‘In Rome the PM committed to leading this work and I will back that to the hilt.’

Labour’s proposed clause setting out the circumstances in which Rwanda will no longer be recognised as a country that is safe to send asylum seekers to has been defeated.

It was voted down by a majority of 74, by 336 to 262.

Labour wants to create a new clause that sets out the circumstances in which Rwanda will no longer be recognised as a country that is safe to send asylum seekers to.

A result is expected shortly.

MPs approved clause four of the Government’s bill on Rwanda with a majority of 275.

They backed it by 330 votes to 55.

Mark Francois said the numbers ‘speak for themselves’ after a series of Tory rebellions over the Rwanda bill.

He told Sky News: ‘I think they show there is a great deal of concern on the Conservative backbenches, because of course ministers have to vote with the government, about the bill.

‘We have further votes tomorrow.

‘I hope very much the government will listen and as a result of this…  The numbers speak for themselves.’

However, he did not rule out voting against the Government on the Rwanda Bill’s third reading.

Asked if he would support the Government at third reading he said: ‘Let’s see what happens tomorrow.’

Tory deputy chairs Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith dramatically quit their party roles tonight as they joined a revolt against Rishi Sunak ‘s Rwanda Bill.

Mr Anderson, the Ashfield MP, and Mr Clarke-Smith, the Bassetlaw MP, told Mr Sunak they were supporting rebel efforts to toughen the Bill in order to be ‘consistent’.

The departure of two leading ‘Red Wall’ MPs from prominent party roles is a fresh blow for the PM as he faces a fresh Tory civil war over the Rwanda asylum plan.

His Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill is designed at making the deportation scheme legally watertight following the Supreme Court ‘s ruling last year that it is unlawful.

Some of the Conservative rebels say they will vote against the bill if it is not strengthened.

Along with opposition party votes, that might be enough to kill the legislation – a major blow to Sunak’s authority and potentially fatal to the Rwanda plan.

He told GB News: ‘I can confirm that Lee and Brendan would both pass our strict vetting process.’

Earlier today, another Tory, Sir Edward Leigh cautioned that if the Bill is passed as it is ‘people will make spurious claims based on their political opinions which will make it impossible for them to be put on a flight to Rwanda’.

He said: ‘You can so easily concoct a spurious reason why, whilst Rwanda generally may be a safe country, for you personally… you cannot be sent there and this will clog up our whole judicial process.’

Sir Edward continued: ‘You can concoct so easily a history of mental illness, it’s so subjective, it’s easy enough to find a doctor to sign a medical certificate saying that you have a history of mental illness, it’s easy to concoct a personal history. For instance if you come from Iran, that you allege that you are gay for instance, again no tribunal will export you to Iran if you say that you are gay. If you come from Iraq you can say that you are an activist Christian, whether you are or not.

‘I cannot see how anybody who has a right to go through the judicial process – given the ease that you create a history, personal history, which will make your own personal circumstances impossible in Rwanda – I can’t believe that any court or any tribunal will export somebody to Rwanda.’

Robert Jenrick’s amendment was voted down 525 to 58.

Again it acts as a warning sign to Rishi Sunak of a broader Tory rebellion against the Rwanda bill.

Robert Jenrick is among more than 60 Tory lawmakers who want to toughen the legislation by closing loopholes and sidelining judges.

Their amendments are unlikely to pass, but a test for Sunak will come Wednesday when lawmakers are set to vote on the bill as a whole.

Mr Jenrick told the Commons in a debate this afternoon that the Bill ‘doesn’t work’ and is ‘operationally flawed’.

He said the proposed changes ‘represent the last opportunity for us to get this policy right’.

MPs now voting on ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick’s amendment, which aims to limit individuals’ ability to appeal against their deportation.

Mr Jenrick quit the Government over Rishi Sunak’s migration approach.

MPs accept the government’s provision of the bill that Rwanda is a safe country for sending asylum seekers.

MPs approved it with a majority of 69, by 331 votes to 262.

The details of the Cash amendment vote have been released.

They show that 58 Tory MPs voted with the amendment, rebelling against the Government.

Eight Democratic Unionist Party and two independent MPs also voted for the amendment.

The amendment was voted down 529 to 68, a majority of 461.

However, it could mean a rebellion of 70 MPs, including the two tellers, with the majority Tory MPs.

The exact figures will not be known until a more detailed breakdown is released.

MPs are voting on Amendment 10 to the bill, which was put forward by veteran Conservative Sir Bill Cash.

It aims to disapply international law in regards to Rwanda being a safe country.

A result is expected shortly.

Rishi Sunak suffered a revolt over Rwanda tonight as Tories backed moves to beef up legislation.

Two Conservative deputy chairs, Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith, dramatically quit to defy the government whip on the flagship legislation.

In their resignation letter, Conservative deputy chairmen Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith said they have consistently argued for the Government’s Rwanda legislation to be watertight, adding: ‘It is therefore important in terms of credibility that we are consistent with this.’

They told Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that their deputy chairmen roles meant there was an issue of being bound by collective responsibility.

‘It is with this in mind that we fully appreciate that whilst our main wish is to strengthen the legislation, this means that in order to vote for amendments we will therefore need to offer you our resignations from our roles.”

The MPs said they did not want to distract the Prime Minister from his ‘work on illegal migration’.

The Lady Chief Justice stressed decisions on deploying judges were ‘exclusively a matter for the judiciary’ amid attempts by ministers to quell concerns from rebel Tory MPs over the Rwanda Bill.

The most senior judge in England and Wales made the comments after plans were announced to draft in more judges and free up courtrooms in a bid to speed up migrant appeals.

Downing Street said the move showed the Government was ‘taking every conceivable step’ to get Rwanda deportation flights off the ground.

Amendment 45 was voted down 337 to 66.

MPs have divided to vote on whether the UK government should monitor, on an ongoing basis, whether Rwanda is a safe country.

The result is expected at 5,55pm.

Accepting Labour and SNP amendments to the Bill would make it ‘simply unworkable’, the immigration minister Michael Tomlinson told MPs.

He told the Commons: ‘This House has a fundamental choice.

‘We can legislate as the Government proposes to end the perilous journeys being made across the Channel by enabling Parliament to confirm that in light of the treaty that the Home Secretary signed on December 5 last year, and in light of the updated evidence, that the Republic of Rwanda is a safe third country.

‘Or we can put into statute a scheme that is riven with holes by amendments tabled by members opposite that makes the Bill simply unworkable.’

The Tory former cabinet minister said: ‘The Prime Minister has said he will do whatever it takes. Unfortunately, I do not believe that as of this moment we are set to do whatever it takes to stop this problem.

‘And I can only vote for this legislation if I believe genuinely and sincerely that it will resolve the problem.’

‘In the absence of amendments being brought forward and supported by the Government I will not be able to support this Bill, more than that, I will vote against it at third reading.’

Rishi Sunak is facing a test of strength with rebels over Rwanda tonight as more Tories back moves to beef up legislation.

Furious MPs insist they are ‘not f***ing around’ and will attempt to kill the flagship legislation, plunge the government into crisis, unless the PM agrees to toughen it up.

In tense scenes in the Commons, Jane Stevenson – a ministerial aide to Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch – said she would be backing hostile amendments in crunch votes this evening.

Mr Sunak also could be forced to sack two Conservative deputy chairs, Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith, if they make good on vows to defy the government whip.

And Boris Johnson has waded into the row, saying the government must bow to the demands by more than 60 Tories.

Read more form MailOnline here: