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Sir Chris Bryant laid out five reasons he believed were why MPs should vote against Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill during a debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday, 12 December.The Labour MP for Rhondda described the emergency legislation as “laughable” and said it “seeks to reverse a finding of fact by the highest court in the land.”The prime minister published new planned legislation, entitled the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which would deem Rwanda safe in British law after the original bill was struck down as unlawful by the Supreme Court.A vote on the bill was scheduled for 7pm on Tuesday. More

James Cleverly said that the death of an asylum seeker on board the Bibby Stockholm barge will be investigated fully.The home secretary told MPs in the House of Commons: “Tragically, there has been (a) death on the Bibby Stockholm barge. I’m sure that the thoughts of the whole House, like mine, are with those affected.“The House will understand that at this stage I am uncomfortable getting into any more details. But we will of course investigate fully.”Dorset Police said they received a report of a sudden death of a resident on the Bibby Stockholm at 6:22am. More

Members of Rishi Sunak’s cabinet arrive at Downing Street ahead of the Rwanda vote later today (12 December).MPs including Victoria Atkins, James Cleverly, Grant Shapps, and David Cameron met with the Prime Minster as he tries to avoid defeat on his Rwanda bill.The updated bill will be voted on in the House of Commons today, after being struck down as unlawful by the Supreme Court.There stands significant division within the Conservative Party over the bill. And if 29 Tory MPs vote against it then the bill will fail. More

Keir Starmer has dismissed the Rwanda plan as a “gimmick” and piece of political “performance art”.Mr Starmer said Labour would use the money “being wasted on the Rwanda scheme” to step up cross-border policing to tackle human trafficking gangs and he vowed his party would also speed up asylum claim processing, with those refused permission to stay sent back to their country of origin.He told BBC Breakfast: “What I wouldn’t do, and what I won’t vote for, is £290 million spent on a gimmick that is the Rwanda scheme, that won’t work, at the very most will take about 100 people.” More

The government’s new Rwanda legislation only leaves “narrow” scope for an appeal against deportation, Michael Gove has said.Speaking to the BBC on Sunday 10 December, the cabinet minister defended Rishi Sunak’s “tough and robust” bill.Mr Gove said he is confident of Conservative support for the “legally sound” plans and insisted ministers are not “contemplating” a general election if they lose Tuesday’s vote.Robert Jenrick, however, who resigned as immigration minister over the policy, confirmed he will not support the “weak bill that will not work”. More

Rishi Sunak and Mark Rutte were locked outside of 10 Downing Street on Thursday, 7 December.The UK prime minister and his outgoing Dutch counterpart were meeting in London for policy discussions.Footage outside Number 10 shows Mr Rutte arriving to greet Mr Sunak.The pair pose for photographs as they shake hands, before Mr Sunak turns to open the door – and finds they are locked out.They continue to chat as Mr Sunak attempts to push the door, before someone already inside eventually lets them in. More

Robert Jenrick offered scathing criticism of Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill on Sunday 10 December.“I think that a political choice has been made to bring forward a bill that does not do the job,” Mr Jenrick, who resigned as immigration minister this week, told the BBC.He also told host Laura Kuenssberg that he will not be supporting the bill, adding that he is “determined that we can persuade the government and colleagues in parliament that there is a better way”.“I don’t believe this bill will work,” Mr Jenrick said. More

Tom Pursglove was mocked for claiming there is a “unity of purpose in parliament” on the Rwanda treaty.The new immigration minister was speaking on BBC Radio 4 Today when he made the comments (8 December).“I think there is a unity of purpose on the Conservative benches in parliament that we need to address this issue. The Prime Minister is showing a lot of leadership on this,” the MP told Amol Rajan.“I’m genuinely interested in whether or not you’re being sarcastic. Did you just say that there’s a unity of purpose in parliament?” the host quipped back. More