Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fights for his Rwanda immigration plan
He's made a statement from Downing Street
Rishi Sunak insisted his new plan to revive the stalled Rwanda asylum scheme "blocks every single reason that has ever been used to prevent flights".
As the Prime Minister battled to keep his Tory party behind him, he claimed going any further would mean "the entire scheme will collapse".
Mr Sunak has staked his reputation on coming up with a plan to "stop the boats" but his authority has been damaged by the resignation of immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who claimed the plan does not go far enough.
At a Downing Street press conference he said the Government's proposed new immigration law would "restore people's trust that the system is fair".
The Prime Minister said:
"Today the Government has introduced the toughest anti-illegal immigration law ever.
"I know that it will upset some people and you will hear a lot of criticism about it, so it's right to explain why I have done this."
The PM said next week's vote on his Rwanda legislation would not be treated as a confidence matter.
Asked whether he would remove the whip from Conservative MPs who voted against the Bill, he said:
"No, but what this vote is about is about confidence in Parliament to demonstrate that it gets the British people's frustration.
"I get it, I'm acting on it. So actually the real question when it comes to all these votes is for the Labour Party, because I want to get this legislation on the statute books as quickly as possible. That's what we're all about.
"We've moved at record pace since the judgment to get the treaty, to get the Bill introduced, so the question now is for the Labour Party."
He added:
"This is our deterrent, we are doing everything we can to get it on the statute books and get it up and running, so the question for votes in Parliament is what is the Labour Party's plan and are they going to back this legislation?"
Rishi Sunak issued a defence of his new Rwanda legislation and claimed it prevents every reason that has been used to prevent flights taking off under the stalled plan.
The Prime Minister said:
"Today the Government has introduced the toughest anti-illegal immigration law ever.
"I know that it will upset some people and you will hear a lot of criticism about it, so it's right to explain why I have done this."
Saying his family "came here legally" and "like most immigrants, they integrated into local communities".
He said:
"It's not a given. Illegal immigration undermines not just out border controls, it undermines the very sense of fairness that is so central to our national character.
"We play by the rules, we put in our fair share, we wait our turn. Now if some people can just cut that out, you've not just lost control of your borders, you fatally undermine the very fairness on which trust in our system is based."
The Government's top law officer says she feels "very comfortable" in her job as she faced calls to publish her legal advice on emergency Rwanda legislation.
Rishi Sunak has split ministerial responsibility for legal and illegal migration as he replaced Robert Jenrick.
Michael Tomlinson will be the illegal migration minister in the Home Office, and will also attend Cabinet.
Tom Pursglove will be the minister for legal migration and delivery in the Home Office.
Robert Courts replaces Mr Tomlinson as Solicitor General.
Former home secretary Suella Braverman said tweaks to the Rwanda plan would not be enough to get people on the plane to Africa.
She said the new legislation would still allow legal claims that could block flights and "clog up the system", potentially for years.
She said:
"You can't tweak at this problem. We can't do half measures.
"We have to totally exclude international law - the Refugee Convention, other broader avenues of legal challenge."
Suella Braverman defended her actions and her controversial style.
The former home secretary said:
"The truth is that when I served as home secretary I sought to be honest: Honest to the British people, honest for the British people and sometimes honesty is uncomfortable.
"But I'm not going to shy away from telling people how it is and from plain speaking, and if that upsets polite society then I'm sorry about that.
"But the point is that we need to be honest, we need to be clear-eyed about the situation right now.
"We can't keep failing the British people. We have made promise after promise. We have put forward plan after plan. They have all failed. And we have now run out of time.
"This is an issue of huge importance to the majority of British people who desperately want us to fix it. We need to be honest about that. And only if we're honest will we have a chance of properly fixing it and resolving this issue."
Former home secretary Suella Braverman insisted "I want the Prime Minister to succeed" but said he would have to change course in order to do that.