No.10 To Publish Summary Of Rwanda Scheme Internal Legal Advice Ahead Of Crunch Vote

The government will take the unusual step of publishing a “summery” of internal legal advice, ahead of a crucial vote for Rishi Sunak on his Rwanda deportation plan.

“We want to ensure the public and of course MPs have all the facts available to them,” Downing Street said on Monday.

MPs will be asked on Tuesday to back legislation which the prime minister has said will see people seeking asylum in the UK sent to Rwanda instead.

Previous attempts to send people crossing the English Channel to the east African country have been blocked by the courts.

But Conservative MPs on different wings of the party have not yet decided whether to support the bill, raising the possibly of a humiliating defeat for Sunak.

Some on the right are worried the legislation is too weak and will not prevent asylum seekers launching legal challenges against being deported.

While from the other direction, more moderate Tory MPs have concerns the bill goes too far and could put the UK at odds with its human rights commitments. 

Both groups are holding meetings in parliament today to decide how they will vote. 

No.10 said this morning it would be releasing a “summary of the legal advice” it has has had to support the bill.

“Given the significant interest and the need to be as clear as possible both to parliamentarians and public we think it is the right thing to do,” the prime minister’s spokesperson said.

“We want to ensure the public and of course MPs have all the facts available to them.”

The PM has made the Rwanda policy a key part of his promise “stop the boats” in the run-up to the next election.

The government hopes the threat of being sent to Rwanda will deter people from crossing the Channel.

It would take only 29 Tory MPs to vote against the plan for Sunak to lose the vote.

Defeat could go as far as to imperial Sunak’s premiership and there is talk in Westminster of yet another Tory leadership challenge.

The flagship Rwanda policy – first announced when Boris Johnson was still PM last year – has been beset by problems.

In November the Supreme Court ruled the original law was unlawful as there was a real risk of people deported to Rwanda from the UK being sent back to their home county where they faced persecution.