Rishi Sunak faces crunch Rwanda vote as Tory MPs split

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing a battle to persuade Tory MPs to back his flagship Rwanda bill, ahead of a key vote on Tuesday.

The legislation seeks to revive the government's plan to send some asylum seekers to the east African country.

MPs on the right of the party have said the bill does not go far enough and will not work in its current form.

But more centrist MPs warned against any changes which would breach international law.

Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace urged his fellow Tory MPs not to "wreck" the government by voting down the bill.

Writing in the Telegraph, he warned against "making the perfect (but unrealistic) the enemy of the good".

Former attorney general Sir Geoffrey Cox told BBC Newsnight that "if we go on like this of course we're going to switch off millions of people upon whose votes we depend".

He told the programme: "This bill is the beginnings of the solution to the problem… We need to unite - improve it - but get it through."

The Safety of Rwanda Bill faces its first Parliamentary test - known as its second reading - on Tuesday, when MPs get a chance to debate and vote on the main principles of the bill.

The aim of the policy is to deter migrants from crossing the Channel and it is central to the government's plan to "stop the boats" - which Mr Sunak has made one of his key priorities.

A rebellion by Tory MPs could sink the Rwanda scheme and severely damage the prime minister's authority.

Among those on the right of the party, the New Conservatives group said the bill required "major surgery or replacement".

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