UK Prime Minister Rishi Begs MPs Not to Kill off Rwanda Plan

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has met with right-wing lawmakers in his governing Conservative Party to prevent them from collapsing an immigration policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Sunak held a dawn meeting with the law makers ahead of a key House of Commons vote on a bill designed to implement the policy on Tuesday evening.

The group said it has around 40 MPs demanding “major surgery” to the legislation to ensure deportation flights can finally head to the African nation.

Rishi Sunak is facing the biggest test of his premiership so far as he scrambles to defuse a mutiny by right-wingers who are demanding the government toughens up emergency legislation to revive the deportation scheme.

Lee Anderson, the Conservative deputy chairman, Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger were among those arriving for an hour-long breakfast meet in Downing Street. They were served bacon rolls, despite earlier claims smoked salmon was on the menu.

Critics have been warning that ‘major surgery’ is still needed to fix the flagship Bill, with as many as 40 MPs prepared either to abstain or vote against in the Commons tonight.

In theory 29 Tories going into the Noe lobby, or 57 abstaining, would be enough to thwart the premier.

It would be the first time since 1986 that a government Bill has not secured a second reading, which is usually a formality before amendments are brought later in the process.

But after the discussions, Sunak took to social media to insist that his party must ‘back this bill’.

A No10 source stressed that the text as it stands has been ‘drafted with close attention to detail’.

“It was a very useful meeting to hear MPs thoughts and discuss their concerns. The bill has been drafted with close attention to detail, with colleagues input helping to shape the legislation,” the source said.

‘The tests set for the bill have been met and we will continue to listen to and engage with colleagues across the party as it passes through parliament. This bill will work and will do what we need it to do.’

In a sign of alarm among Tory whips, MPs on one Commons committee are said to have been ordered to return from a Caribbean trip in order to take part in the showdown.

Former Cabinet ministers Dame Priti Patel, Ben Wallace and David Davis have been mobilised as Downing Street desperately tries to contain the chaos, delivered a stark message that defeat for Sunak could collapse the Government and force a general election.