ROBERT JENRICK RESIGNS AS IMMIGRATION MINISTER OVER GOVERNMENT’S RWANDA PLAN Minister Resigns saying that the current proposals would NOT solve the problem
Robert Jenrick has resigned from his post as immigration minister, citing “strong disagreements” with the government over the Rwanda policy.
The Tory MP for Newark said he did not think Rishi Sunak’s emergency legislation to revive the stalled asylum plan would “end the merry-go-round of legal challenges” which have so far paralysed the scheme.
He shared his resignation letter on Social Media, moments after Home Secretary James Cleverly confirmed his colleague’s departure following repeated questioning in the Commons.
But in his response, the prime minister called the resignation “disappointing”, saying he feared the minister’s departure was “based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation”, and that it was “our experience that gives us confidence that this will work”.
Speculation mounted after Mr Jenrick was missing from the frontbench as Mr Cleverly defended the government’s bid to rescue the deal to deport immigrants who arrive illegally to East Africa, which the Supreme Court has ruled unlawful.
Shortly afterwards Mr Jenrick posted on social media: “It is with great sadness that I have written to the prime minister to tender my resignation as Minister for Immigration.
“I cannot continue in my position when I have such strong disagreements with the direction of the government’s policy on immigration.”
In his letter, Mr Jenrick said he did not think that the emergency legislation, published early on Wednesday, went far enough to end future legal challenges.
The draft bill compels UK judges to treat the East African nation as a safe country and gives ministers powers to disregard sections of the Human Rights Act.
But it does not go as far as providing powers to dismiss the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as hardliners including sacked home secretary Suella Braverman have demanded.
Complying with those demands would have left Mr Sunak facing an outcry from his MPs from the more centrist One Nation faction. Rwanda also said they would pull out of the deal if it broke international law.