Rishi Sunak is facing another damaging rift in his party over calls for the UK to quit a key human rights treaty as the number of people crossing the channel on small boats since 2018 was expected to top 100,000.
Senior figures within the party - including cabinet ministers – want the Conservatives to campaign to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR ) at the next election – if flights to Rwanda remain grounded.
There is growing frustration that the government’s flagship plan to stop thousands arriving in the UK on dangerous small boats crossings has been stalled by legal challenges.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick hinted at quitting the ECHR on Tuesday, saying ministers would do “whatever is necessary ultimately to defend our borders and to bring order to our asylum system.”
But former Tory leadership contender David Davis hit out at the plan, suggesting those advocating it as a solution did not understand the problem.
He tweeted: “Calls to leave the ECHR are from those who clearly do not understand the basis of the problem” above a news article featuring a prominent photo of the home secretary Suella Braverman.
On Wednesday, Lord Heseltine told The Independent that pulling out of the convention would “send an appalling signal to the world about Britain's view of international law”. The former deputy PM said it was part of the “Brexit disaster”, arguing that the right of the party “know Brexit has failed and is constantly looking for ways to reinforce prejudices”.
Labour peer Lord Dubs, himself a refugee, said leaving the ECHR would be a “complete disaster”.
Sir Bob Neill, who chairs the Commons Justice Committee, said: “It's not government policy, it never has been.
“Ministers should stick to the day job and not speculate about policy.”
Rishi Sunak has previously resisted calls to withdraw from the ECHR.
Lee Anderson, the party’s controversial deputy chair at the centre of a storm over his comments that asylum seekers who did not want to live on a barge should “F*** off back to France”, indicated he accepted the government’s position.
But he said he personally backed withdrawal and “drastic measures” could be needed.
Anderson told GB News: “You only have to Google my name and put ECHR in and you’ll see where I stand on the matter and I’ve spoken about it in the chamber as well. I’ve always been an advocate of leaving, but you know, we’re a team. And if things don’t work, if things don’t go to plan, then we’ve got to take drastic measures and I would fully support the government in doing that.”
He also said he was “very angry” at the 100,000 number and repeated his claim that they are ”not genuine asylum seekers”.
