Tory MP Simon Clarke vows to vote against Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda policy
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Boris Johnson and two Tory deputy chairmen have backed the mounting rebellion over Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda immigration plan as the prime minister faces a crunch vote on the policy.
Almost 70 right-wing Conservative MPs have now signed the rebel amendments – to be debated and voted on today in the House of Commons – aimed at toughening the bill and curtailing asylum seekers’ rights to appeal against deportation flights to Kigali.
Former prime minister Mr Johnson has also announced his support for the uprising, while Conservative deputy chairmen Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith vowed to join the rebellion.
The ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick – who quit over the “weak” Rwanda bill and has led the rebel amendments – has also said he is prepared to vote against the government at Wednesday’s showdown vote.
However, any attempt by Mr Sunak to placate the rebels would be opposed by more moderate Tories, who are keen to protect the legislation against breaches of international law.
‘Post Office gaslighted me and turned me into basket case for years’, says ex-subpostmaster
A former subpostmaster has accused the Post Office of “gaslighting” her and “turning her into a basket case”, an official inquiry heard.
Jo Hamilton, one of the many subpostmasters wrongly accused of theft, also criticised the red tape and bureaucracy involved in the Horizon scandal compensation schemes.
Giving evidence at the inquiry on Tuesday (16 January), she said: “After the court case I realised it wasn’t just me, it just makes you so angry. They gaslit me for about three years and pretty much turned me into a basket case.”
Lucy Leeson reports:
‘Post Office gaslighted me and turned me into a basket case for years’, says victim
A former subpostmaster has accused the Post Office of “gaslighting” her and “turning her into a basket case”, an official inquiry heard. Jo Hamilton, one of the many subpostmasters wrongly accused of theft, also criticised the red tape and bureaucracy involved in the Horizon scandal compensation schemes. Giving evidence at the inquiry on Tuesday (16 January), she said: “After the court case I realised it wasn’t just me, it just makes you so angry. They gaslit me for about three years and pretty much turned me into a basket case.”
Sunak must deliver on Rwanda if Tories have any hope, says Rees-Mogg
Jacob Rees-Mogg said the government must “urgently” deliver on its immigration pledges, political correspondent Adam Forrest reports.
The former cabinet minister told his own GB News show that people voted in favour of Brexit to “regain sovereignty of our migration policy”.
“This hasn’t happened. People are feeling dissatisfied. There’s a Rwanda bill before parliament at the moment.
“The Tories need to deliver on this and deliver on this urgently if they are to have any hope of re-establishing trust with British voters.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg said the government must ‘urgently’ deliver on its immigration pledges
Co-founder of anti-torture network joins calls for MPs to stop ‘cruel’ bill
The co-founder of an anti-torture network has joined calls for MPs to put an end to the “cruel” Rwanda bill.
Kolbassia Haoussou, the Director of Survivor Leadership and Influencing at Freedom from Torture, said: "Just a few short months ago the Supreme Court ruled that Rwanda was unsafe for people like me. But today, the Government is ignoring all the important evidence, expertise, and testimonies that went into making this vital ruling.
"This Rwanda Bill is inhuman and puts the lives of the most vulnerable at serious risk. I’m calling on all MPs to stop this cruel scheme once and for all.”
Another Tory rebel threatens to vote against Rwanda bill
Senior Tory rebel Sir John Hayes has told Times Radio that he would find it difficult to vote for the Rwanda bill if it is unamended, political correspondent Adam Forrest reports.
The leader of the Common Sense Group – often described as Suella Braverman’s mentor – said: “If the bill is unamended and not fit for purpose…it would be very difficult to vote for that wouldn’t it? I can’t see how you could.”
“I can’t see how having supported the amendments ... I don’t think having done all that, you can then say the bill, which we regard as imperfect, should be supported.”
It remains to be seen how many of the 70 or so MPs who have backed the amendments will feel the same way on Wednesday.
Watch: Fujitsu boss apologises for firm’s role in Post Office Horizon scandal
Fujitsu Europe director Paul Patterson has apologised to subpostmasters wrongly convicted during the Post Office Horizon IT scandal.
Appearing before the Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday (16 January), Mr Patterson said: “To the subpostmasters and their families, Fujitsu would like to apologise for our part in this appalling miscarriage of justice.
“We were involved from the very start. We did have bugs and errors in the system. And we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of subpostmasters. For that we are truly sorry.”
Lucy Leeson reports:
Watch: Fujitsu boss issues apologises for firm’s role in Post Office Horizon scandal
Fujitsu Europe director Paul Patterson has apologised to subpostmasters wrongly convicted during the Post Office Horizon IT scandal. Appearing before the Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday (16 January), Mr Patterson said: “To the subpostmasters and their families, Fujitsu would like to apologise for our part in this appalling miscarriage of justice. “We were involved from the very start. We did have bugs and errors in the system. And we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of subpostmasters. For that we are truly sorry.”
Who are the ‘five families’ of the Tory party in Westminster?
Squabbling over the Rwanda bill has once again highlighted the remarkable number of factions within the parliamentary Conservative Party. Some in Westminster refer to the major groups as the “five families” of the party, though the number of sub-groups has mushroomed, particularly on the hard right. The most high profile in recent years has been the European Research Group, chaired by Mark Francois, which made menacing demands of Rishi Sunak about his proposed legislation, albeit they were pretty much ignored. All have one thing in common: a taste for plotting and intrigue amounting to addiction.
If the Conservatives go into opposition, these disputatious parties-within-a-party will become even more fractious; they are both symptom and cause of the splits that have so disfigured the Conservatives. Tory groups used to be dining clubs of like-minded chums (such as the “Blue Chips” in the 1980s – John Major and Chris Patten) or earnest researchers, such as the Bow Group or the Centre for Policy Studies. Nowadays, the politics are much more raw.
Here is a partial field guide to the different species of Tory MP...
Minister announces move to speed up court hearings in bid to win over Tory MPs
Rishi Sunak’s justice secretary Alex Chalk said he has asked more judges to be appointed to the first-tier and upper tribunal to speed up courts dealing with migrant appeals, political correspondent Adam Forrest reports.
The cabinet minister told the Commons that recruitment would “conclude in the next few months and new judges will be appointed, trained and start sitting from this summer”.
The judiciary has identified judges which could provide 5,000 additional sitting days while extra space had been prepared, making a total of 25 courtrooms available for hearings.
In a written ministerial statement, Mr Chalk said: “We are confident that, with the additional courtroom and judicial capacity detailed above, in line with projected levels agreed with the Home Office, the vast majority of Illegal Migration Act appeal work will be dealt with by the courts in an expedited manner.”
But right-wing Tory rebels are unimpressed. Robert Jenrick has just told Sky News it “won’t wash”. Miriam Cates has told the BBC: “I’m afraid all that shows is that the government is expecting a large number of individual claims.” And Simon Clarke said: “This proves the extent of the problem the bill as drafted will create.”
Bates says ‘everyone will be surprised’ about how much Post Office and Government knew
The public will be “surprised about how much was known early on” by the Post Office and the Government about what was going wrong with the Horizon system, former subpostmaster Alan Bates has said.
Appearing before the Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday (January 16), the former subpostmaster who has led the campaign for justice said it is for the inquiry to establish the level of Fujitsu’s culpability.
“My gut feel on this, having looked at lots of paperwork over the years, is how much did the Post Office really know in the early days and how much did government really know in the early days about what was happening at Fujitsu?
“I think everyone’s going to be surprised about how much was known.”
Lucy Leeson reports:
Alan Bates says ‘surprising’ how much Post Office and Government knew about scandal
The public will be “surprised about how much was known early on” by the Post Office and the Government about what was going wrong with the Horizon system, former subpostmaster Alan Bates has said. Appearing before the Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday (January 16), the former subpostmaster who has led the campaign for justice said it is for the inquiry to establish the level of Fujitsu’s culpability. “My gut feel on this, having looked at lots of paperwork over the years, is how much did the Post Office really know in the early days and how much did government really know in the early days about what was happening at Fujitsu? “I think everyone’s going to be surprised about how much was known.”
Robert Jenrick ‘prepared’ to vote against Rwanda bill
The ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick – who quit over the “weak” Rwanda bill – has said he is prepared to vote against the government at Wednesday’s showdown vote.
The hardliner, who has led the rebel amendments, told Sky News: “I am prepared to vote against the bill... because this bill doesn't work, and I do believe that a better bill is possible.
Mr Jenrick said: “So the government has a choice. It can either accept my amendments ... or it can bring back a new and improved bill, and it could do that within a matter of days because we know the shape of that bill.”
He added: “The opportunity here is immense. Let’s not waste it by creating a scheme that is like a bucket riddled with holes.”
In a last-ditch attempt to calm hardliners’ concerns, the PM will draft in 150 judges and free up courtrooms in order to speed up migrant appeals
But Mr Jenrick said it would “not wash” with Tory rebels, calling it an “implausible suggestion from the government, which was raised at the 11th hour”.
Tory rebel MPs in the ‘five families’ set to meet again
Tory MPs in various right-wing groups – the so-called “five families” – are meeting at 5pm to discuss whether to vote for the Rwanda bill on Wednesday, reports GB News.
There was a flurry of such meetings before the bill passed its first reading before Christmas. Senior figures in the European Research Group, New Conservatives, the Commons Sense Group, the Northern Research Group and No Turning Back get together to discuss the latest thinking.
But in the end, Tory MPs tend to do their own thing. So it is not clear whether 29 of them are really prepared to vote against the government at the crucial third reading – a move so radical it could hasten the end of the Sunak government.
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2024-01-16 13:16:35Z
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