Britain does not withdraw from the "Rwanda" plan for immigrants

Britain is determined to follow through on its plan to deport all illegal immigrants to Rwanda.

To ensure that this plan does not fail, Downing Street has appointed former British Prime Minister David Cameron as the man to lead the government's lobbying operation to avoid defeat over Rwanda's migrant plan.

According to The Times, Cameron will be one of the key figures working to convince Tory rebels who are threatening to withdraw their support for the legislation when the first key vote is held on Tuesday.

Senior officials at the Prime Minister's Office have also been concerned that the law may not comply with the UK's international law obligations.

Cameron spoke to Sir Bill Cash, the veteran Eurosceptic MP and member of the so-called "chamber of stars" of legal experts who review legislation on behalf of more than 30 MPs, for 45 minutes on Friday afternoon. Cash's group is expected to state its position on the bill tomorrow, but the MP told the Sunday Telegraph that the wording of the bill was not "watertight enough".

Cameron also spoke to Cash about immigration, although a source close to the Eurosceptic MP suggested according to The Times that the main reason for their call was because Cameron will appear before the European scrutiny committee, which is chaired by Cash.

Rishi Sunak has insisted this is the "only" way to save his flagship immigration policy after the High Court ruled it illegal last month. However, the prime minister has struggled to persuade his MPs to support the legislation this week after Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, resigned.

Jenrick revealed on Sunday morning that he would rebel against the bill on Tuesday, saying it would not allow flights to Africa. He did not clarify whether his rebellion would involve voting against the legislation or simply abstaining.

He told the BBC that the legislation would continue to allow migrants to "ruin the British scheme" by bringing legal claims, adding: "The test for this is not, 'can you take one or two token flights away, with a handful of illegal migrants on them'. It's, "can you create a strong barrier that is durable and protects the borders of this country for years to come"?

Jenrick also hit back at Sunak's accusation that he "fundamentally misunderstood" the Rwandan bill, saying: "Anyone who really understands this knows it's not going to work."

In a plea to win over the rebels, Sunak said last night: “People in this country care deeply about the ban on boats. A government that governs in their interest must act on these legitimate concerns.”

Accusing Labor of not having a plan to tackle illegal immigration, he said: "The Conservatives are on the side of the public and we will go ahead with our plan to stop the boats." will stand their ground and allow the bill to progress, with sources claiming influential right-wing MPs including Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, Dame Priti Patel and Lee Anderson are likely to vote in favour.

But others on the right have warned that their support is not yet guaranteed and there is still the risk of a significant number of abstentions.

They include Jenrick, who will either abstain or vote against the bill, and Suella Braverman, the former interior secretary, who yesterday said his opposition to the legislation was "very troubling".

Increasing the pressure on Sunak, Jenrick wrote in The Daily Telegraph that "some of the best legal minds in the country" have ruled that under the legislation immigrants will be able to make legal appeals against removal and that they can "avoid flying to a considerable number ".

However, it is thought that the real danger to Sunak will come in the new year, at committee stage when conservative rebels are expected to introduce amendments to block individual legal challenges and bypass the European Convention on Human Rights.

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