REFUGEES were treated as political footballs today while the Tory Party careered towards the political cliff edge in its bid to deport them.
PM Rishi Sunak’s fate was uncertain as the debate on the plan to fly refugees to Rwanda unfolded in the Commons — with the vote taking place after the Star went to press — while Conservative back-bench divisions widened and Labour offered point-scoring.
The government was expected to easily see off amendments from the anti-migrant right designed to block any legal route of appeal for asylum-seekers, but the final Bill was facing a possibly tight vote.
The Westminster mayhem came as there were signs that the patience of the Rwandan government may be running out.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame told journalists that “there is a limit to how long this can drag on” and “it is the UK’s problem, not Rwanda’s problem.”
He even floated the possibility of giving Britain back some of the £400 million paid to Rwanda if no refugees are ever deported there.
Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the Prime Minister should “seize the chance instead of dragging out this Tory asylum chaos any longer” and use the money to “strengthen border security” and crack down on smuggling gangs instead.
A government spokesman declined to predict the result of the key vote, expected late this evening.
Some of the right-wing rebels were expected to join Labour and other opposition parties in voting the Bill down which, if successful, would produce a terminal crisis for Mr Sunak’s leadership.
But Tory whips were banking on most of the irreconcilables abstaining at worst, which would most likely let the government off the hook.
However, former cabinet minister Simon Clarke made it clear that he would definitely vote against the Bill if it was not amended, on the grounds that it would leave refugees with too many rights.
Similarly, recently resigned immigration minister Robert Jenrick told MPs that he did not believe Britain’s “membership of the European Convention on Human Rights is sustainable.”
One Tory, Giles Watling, even proposed an armed invasion of northern France to block refugees seeking to cross the Channel.
“This is a defence of the realm matter and we need British boots on the ground,” he told MPs.
“We must explore negotiating with our continental neighbours, pointing out that they would regain control of their overrun towns from Dunkirk to Boulogne if they allow British boots on the ground in northern France to assist their efforts,” Mr Watling explained, floating the one plan less plausible than the floundering Rwanda deal.
But the Tory moderates were making their voices heard too, with former attorney-general Jeremy Clarke warning that international law could not be ignored.
He argued that Britain had attacked Yemen in purported support of international law, so to disregard it now would be inconsistent.
In a desperate bid to appease the rebels, Mr Sunak has floated the possibility of ignoring ECHR rulings favouring asylum-seekers.
Earlier, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer made merry at the Prime Minister’s expense, likening the Tory divisions to “hundreds of bald men scrapping over a broken comb.”
The hapless Mr Sunak, who it has been revealed had serious doubts about the Rwanda policy when it was first broached, is reeling from the resignation of hard-right deputy party chair Lee Anderson over his faltering efforts to implement it.
However, Labour’s opposition does not appear motivated by values. The deportation scheme was “not workable, effective or value for money,” a spokesman said.
The Prime Minister’s response was to bait Sir Keir as a “lefty lawyer” with a proven interest in human rights, referring to texts penned long ago by the opposition leader, before his present authoritarian makeover.
