Financial Times – Sunak’s drive to unite Tories behind Rwanda bill implodes as Jenrick quits 

The Financial Times goes with the resignation of immigration minister Robert Jenrick, saying it scuppered Rishi Sunak’s bid to reunite his party.

The paper says PM Rishi Sunak’s attempt to save his Rwanda asylum policy with emergency legislation, triggered a backlash from rightwing Conservatives. Sunak appealed to Tory MPs with a “unite or die” message and introduced a new bill declaring Rwanda as a “safe” country, intending to send migrants there. However, Jenrick, in his resignation letter, criticised Sunak’s plan as “a triumph of hope over experience,” and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman cautioned that the Tories were heading towards “electoral oblivion.”

The front page leads with an image of Boris Johnson as the former prime minister appeared at the Covid inquiry. The paper notes Johnson said he was “bewildered” by evidence of Covid back in 2020 – before the first lockdown, noting his government had underestimated the pandemic. 

Today’s news summary – Paper Talk: Jenrick quits & BoJo says sorry over Covid deaths