RISHI Sunak was tonight rocked by TWO bombshell resignations over his Rwanda plan – teeing up a blockbuster showdown with rebels.
Tory MPs Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith quit their jobs as deputy party chairs after rebelling against the government.
Rishi Sunak has been rocked by two resignationsRex
Lee Anderson resigned as a deputy Tory chairman tonight
The Red Wall duo both voted for a series of rebel amendments designed to toughen up the PM’s flagship Rwanda Bill.
More than 60 Conservative MPs have now joined a rightwing revolt demanding fundamental changes to the PM’s flagship deportation scheme.
Leading Tory rebels today warned Rishi Sunak to toughen his “legally and operationally unworkable” Rwanda plan – or they would take the nuclear option and vote it down.
Ahead of a series of votes tonight, Chief Whip Simon Hart warned any MP on the government payroll who voted with the rebels would be sacked.
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Shortly after backing the first rebel amendment, Mr Anderson and Mr Clarke-Smith released a joint letter announcing their resignations.
They said: “Our support for the party and this Government remains as strong as ever and that is why we are so passionate about making this legislation work.
“However, we fully appreciate that with such important roles there is also the issue of being bound by collective responsibility.
“It is with this in mind that we fully appreciate that whilst our main wish is to strengthen the legislation, this means that in order to vote for amendments we will therefore need to offer you our resignations from our roles.”
The rebels were emboldened this morning by a dramatic intervention from Boris Johnson, who said ministers should ramp up the Bill to make it more “robust”.
A series of amendments tabled by the rebels to harden the legislation are being debated today and tomorrow but will fail without government support.
While stopping short of backing any of their changes, Mr Sunak has appealed to the rightwingers by vowing to defy European judges and fast-tracking migrant legal challenges.
But it has failed to win round several rebels who have threatened to vote to sink the entire Bill tomorrow night if it continues unchanged.
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