Robert Jenrick resigns as immigration minister over Rwanda legislation

Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, has quit, stating that the government’s Rwanda legislation isn’t sufficient. He believes there’s a need for “stronger protections” to stop constant legal challenges that could hinder the scheme. 

The government argues that the bill establishes in UK law that Rwanda is a safe country for asylum seekers, but for some of the right of the Conservative Party, it falls short of meeting what they wanted. 

In his resignation letter to Rishi Sunak, Jenrick said the PM had “moved towards my position” on the emergency legislation.

“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.”

Jenrick added that the bill was “a triumph of hope over experience”.

The PM responded to Jenrick’s resignation, saying it was “disappointing” and  “based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation”.

“If we were to oust the courts entirely, we would collapse the entire scheme,” Sunak said.

“The Rwandan government have been clear that they would not accept the UK basing this scheme on legislation that could be considered in breach of our international law obligations.”