The resignation of immigration minister Robert Jenrick has thrown UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plans to pass the Rwanda deportation bill into chaos, according to several leading newspapers. The Financial Times reports that the legislation, which was designed to strengthen UK asylum policy via legal means, will fail to get parliamentary approval following opposition from within the Conservative Party. The draft bill was published this week and immediately faced criticism for ignoring key parts of international law.
Jenrick, a prominent member of the Conservative right, accused Sunak of failing to properly support the legislation and warned that the proposed bill was a triumph of “hope over experience”. Jenrick had tried to persuade Sunak to ignore the European Convention on Human Rights in order to allow government ministers greater leeway when making deportation decisions.
Other leading newspapers have also weighed in on the issue. The Guardian reports that Sunak’s plans have been plunged into crisis following Jenrick’s resignation, while the i accuses the prime minister of fundamentally misunderstanding the situation. The Times points out that large numbers of Britons are now only eating two meals a day, while the Daily Mail asks if the Conservative Party will ever stop fighting among themselves.
Meanwhile, the appearance of former prime minister Boris Johnson at the UK’s Covid-19 inquiry continues to dominate many front pages. Johnson has been criticised for vastly underestimating the dangers posed by the pandemic, although the Sun reports that he “fought back tears” during his testimony
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