‘Total Tory chaos!’: MPs debate Rwanda bill as Sunak seeks to diffuse backbench revolt

MPs are today debating the government’s Safety of Rwanda Bill at its second commons reading as prime minister Rishi Sunak seeks to diffuse a backbench rebellion over the proposals.

Opening the debate for the government, home secretary James Cleverly said: “This government is stopping the boats, arrivals are down by a third this year as illegal entries are on the rise elsewhere in Europe”.

He added: “Of course, of course this government respects court judgements even when we disagree with them. But parliament and the British people want an end to illegal immigration and they support the Rwanda plan”.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper responded: “This should be a debate about how we prevent life being lost, about how we strengthen our border security, about how we stop dangerous boat crossings, and how we fix the broken asylum system. Instead, we’ve just got total Tory chaos.

“It is time to end all of this chaos. Time to ditch the gimmicks. Time for the government to get a grip”.

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