Rishi Sunak to hold surprise Downing Street press conference this morning

22 April 2024 , 07:30

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Rishi Sunak to hold surprise Downing Street press conference this morning

Rishi Sunak to address the nation from Downing Street before MPs and peers are expected to finally pass the Government’s Rwanda Bill later today following delays

Rishi Sunak has called a surprise press conference in Downing Street.

The PM is expected to address the nation later this morning. Mr Sunak will speak about the Government’s long-delayed Rwanda plan. 

MPs and peers later tonight are due to finally pass legislation that could get flights in the air.

It comes as Mr Sunak struggles to turn around the Conservative Party’s dire opinion poll ratings. The PM is braced for the possibility of a leadership challenge by his MPs if the results of local elections on May 2 are dire. A difficult by-election for the Tories will also be held in Blackpool South on the same day. 

Mr Sunak is trying to get on the front foot after the party was hit by yet another sleaze scandal. MP Mark Menzies announced yesterday that he had quit the Tories and will not stand at the next election following allegations that he misused campaign funds to pay “bad people”.

The Rwanda deportation was first announced two years ago in April 2022 when Boris Johnson was Prime Minister.

The Government has vowed to keep Parliament sitting late into the night if necessary to pass the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, which it sees as vital to Mr Sunak’s pledge to "stop the boats".

Peers have repeatedly blocked the legislation with a series of amendments, stretching debate on the "emergency legislation" over more than four months and delaying flights taking asylum seekers to Rwanda. Downing Street is hostile to the idea of making concessions to secure the passage of the Bill, leading to a deadlock with the Lords. 

The Bill is intended to overcome the objections of the Supreme Court by forcing judges to treat Rwanda as a safe country for asylum seekers and allowing ministers to ignore emergency injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights. 

Last week saw peers amend the Bill yet again to include an exemption for Afghan nationals who assisted British troops and a provision meaning Rwanda could not be treated as safe unless it was deemed so by an independent monitoring body.

Tonight, MPs are expected to vote to overturn those changes before sending the Bill back to the House of Lords, where some peers may attempt to insist on their amendments again. If so, the Bill would return to the Commons later for a further vote and then return once again to the Lords in a process known as "ping pong" that could last well past the Commons’ usual 10.30pm finish.

Sophia Martinez