30 January 2023 , 09:47
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A Tory MP has compared Rishi Sunak's Government to the "band on the Titanic", according to a string of leaked WhatsApp messages.
Backbencher Lee Anderson ranted that any officials blocking Government efforts to stem the flow of small boat crossings may be guilty of "treason" in WhatsApps obtained by Sky News.
The tranche of messages from the right-wing Common Sense Group of Tories laid bare anger from MPs attacking civil servants and bemoaning Rishi Sunak's Government.
Their anger appeared to have been triggered by a Sunday Express front page claiming civil servants are trying to "scupper" the Prime Minister's plans to tackle illegal migration.
Mr Anderson said the Government's promised legislation would "not stop the crossings" - and the controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda could happen "if we had the balls".
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After one MP said legislation is coming to tackle the issue, Dudley North MP Marco Longhi said: "I don't want to shoot the messenger.
Tory MP Lee Anderson (Tom Maddick SWNS)"But we've had legislation before. ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) trumps everything and our own colleagues want to keep it even if it poses a security risk to UK people as we've just seen.
"We will be slaughtered at the locals and at the GE (general election)."
Mr Anderson reportedly replied: "It's like the band on the Titanic. Playing the same tune and ignoring the obvious."
The MPs also hit out at civil servants accused of frustrating the Government's plans.
Ipswich MP Tom Hunt said: "All of the unelected civil servants who are attempting to block the democratically elected government should either be fired or named.
"If they want to engage in politics and be a political actor they should either leave their profession and stand for office or get the scrutiny that comes with it."
"Going against the state is Treason. Surely," Mr Anderson said.
Mid Derbyshire MP Pauline Latham was quoted as saying: "I thought civil servants advise and ministers decide? Obviously no longer!"
She declined to comment when contacted by PA.
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The Government is struggling to get a grip of the numbers of desperate asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats (AFP via Getty Images)Wrexham MP Sarah Atherton said: "I thought there was a process to sack them. Obviously no longer! They counter-argue with bullying claims."
South Holland and The Deepings MP, Sir John Hayes, a close ally of Home Secretary Suella Braverman, said: "They simply must be told! Please feed into your whips that this is the government's most urgent priority.
"We must back Suella in this battle with out of touch, privileged, unelected pen pushers."
Mr Sunak is under intense pressure to crack down on illegal migration, with the surge in small boats crossings cited as a key issue on the doorstep by many Tory MPs.
The PM has made it one of five key pledges in his New Year speech but the issue is likely to cause him headaches in the run up to the local elections in May.
The Government's controversial scheme to ship migrants to Rwanda is tied up in the courts after a series of legal challenges on human rights grounds.
The High Court granted some of the groups who lost the case the right to appeal earlier this month. No flights can take off until the legal wrangling is resolved.