UK prime minister 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 Mr Sunak 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 UK government’s proposed new immigration law would “restore people’s trust that the system is fair”.
The British 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.”
