Summary

  • Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is going head to head with Labour leader Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions

  • Facing MPs less than two hours after his flagship asylum plan was ruled unlawful, he says he is pursuing a new treaty with Rwanda to try and send migrants there

  • It's the first PMQs since Sunak reshuffled his top team by sacking Suella Braverman as home secretary - she subsequently launched a scathing attack on him

  • Starmer criticises the appointment of David Cameron as foreign secretary and asks if he will declare any interests related to China

  • Sunak responds that like every other minister, Cameron will go through "the normal process" and defends the former PM's appointment

  • This morning's ruling against plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is a major blow to one of Sunak's five pledges - namely to "stop the boats"

  1. The key moments from PMQspublished at 13:40 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Rishi Sunak

    Blinked and missed it? Don't worry, we've got you. Here are the main headlines from today's PMQs:

    On Rwanda

    • Rishi Sunak told MPs the government was already working on a new treaty with Rwanda to address the concerns of the Supreme Court, after it ruled the plan to send some asylum seekers to the country was unlawful
    • Labour leader Keir Starmer asked if Sunak would apologise for wasting taxpayers' money on the scheme, arguing the government's plan had failed
    • Sunak hit back by attacking Starmer's record on immigration, saying the Labour leader had opposed stricter asylum rules

    On Sunak's reshuffle

    • Starmer also addressed the sacking of Suella Braverman as home secretary on Monday, claiming she was "unfit for office"
    • Meanwhile, Sunak was pressed on his decision to appoint former PM David Cameron as foreign secretary, with MPs raising his association with the Greensill scandal and former role with a China-UK investment fund
    • Sunak defended Cameron's appointment, saying the former prime minister would go through the normal vetting process for ministers and had "unrivalled experience in foreign affairs"

    Home Secretary James Cleverly is still speaking in the Commons on the Rwanda court ruling - follow along in our other live page here.

    From us in the London newsroom, thanks for joining us and have a lovely day.

  2. BBC Verify

    Was Sunak correct to say Labour would take 100,000 extra migrants?published at 13:33 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    At PMQs, Rishi Sunak claimed the Labour leader’s plan to stop small boats coming to the UK was “a cosy deal with the EU, which would see the UK accept 100,000 illegal migrants”.

    Keir Starmer has said he would negotiate a returns agreement with EU countries to send back some failed asylum seekers - if Labour wins power.

    The Conservatives’ claim is based on the assumption that Labour would have to take 13% of all asylum seekers who arrive in the EU as part of such an agreement because they claim the EU has a policy of sharing asylum seekers between countries based on population size, which would leave the UK taking over 100,000 of them a year.

    But although the EU has been discussing for years how to share responsibility for refugees, no deal based on population is in place.

    Labour has said it would not - and could not - sign up to an EU quota scheme because the UK is not a member state, so any agreement would have to be outside that.

  3. What MPs said about Cameron's appointmentpublished at 13:22 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Heather Sharp
    Live reporter

    Rishi Sunak and David Cameron at 10 Downing St, 13 November 2023Image source, No 10
    Image caption,

    Sunak and Cameron met in Downing Street when he was appointed earlier this week

    Rishi Sunak's decision to appoint former PM David Cameron as foreign secretary kept coming up at PMQs - specifically his record on foreign policy.

    Here are a few of the issues MPs brought up:

    • Questions about his role in the Greensill lobbying controversy, (which we've covered in detail here) - a spokesman for David Cameron has previously denied wrongdoing
    • His relationship with China - including his stint as the vice-chairman of a failed attempt to build a £1bn China-UK investment fund, which raised concerns about his close links with Beijing. A House of Commons report, external said it is possible his appointment was in part "engineered by the Chinese state"
    • His foreign policy record - which includes calling the Brexit referendum in 2016, backing military action in Libya which brought down Muammar Gaddafi - but left a near-failed state in its wake, and losing a Commons vote on whether to bomb Syrian forces after they used chemical weapons

    Sunak said Cameron would go through the normal vetting process, had "unrivalled experience in foreign affairs" and that, under him, the UK "hosted one of the most successful G8 summits of recent times".

    Read more analysis by our diplomatic correspondent James Landale here.

  4. Watch: Starmer accuses Sunak of 'magical thinking'published at 13:14 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    The Labour leader earlier quoted the ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman - asking the PM if he would drop his "magical thinking" in order to tackle the small-boats issue.

    Sunak hit back, saying Starmer had voted against every single measure to tackle small boats.

    Watch the full exchange below:

    Media caption,

    Starmer quizzes PM on 'magical thinking' on small boats

  5. Ditch the gimmicks and get a grip - Labourpublished at 13:06 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper says this morning's Supreme Court ruling exposes a "complete failure" of the government's flagship Rwanda policy and Rishi Sunak's judgement.

    She says over £140m has been spent on the plan, adding "that is money we can't get back".

    She also accuses the government of letting criminal gangs take control of the English Channel and allowing the backlog of asylum cases to soar.

    She welcomes the government's work with France and Albania but says it is too weak and ministers need to implement a "massive comprehensive plan to go after the criminal gangs".

    "Ditch the gimmicks and get a grip," she concludes.

  6. We are getting on with the job - Cleverlypublished at 12:57 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    CleverlyImage source, UK Parliament

    Cleverly says Rwanda is "ready and willing to help" with asylum seekers and that the UNHCR - the UN's refugee agency - runs its own refugee scheme in Rwanda.

    He concludes by stressing that the government's efforts to curb illegal migration are working.

    He cites a reduction in small boat crossings, faster decision-making and action against criminal gangs.

    "We are getting on with the job," he tells MPs in the Commons.

  7. Rwanda judgement based on 15-month-old facts - Cleverlypublished at 12:49 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Newly appointed Home Secretary James Cleverly tells MPs the government fully respects the Supreme Court's judgement that their plans to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda are unlawful.

    But he says the judgement is based on facts from 15 months ago and that it "does not weaken our resolve" to come up with a plan that works.

    He says other countries are exploring a similar model to the UK - naming Austria, Denmark and Italy.

  8. Cleverly now speaking on Rwanda rulingpublished at 12:42 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    We're now hearing from the new Home Secretary James Cleverly, who is giving a ministerial statement on the Supreme Court's ruling that the Rwanda policy is unlawful.

    Stay with us and we'll recap the key moments from PMQs and as well as what Cleverly has to say.

    You follow the reaction to the decision in more detail in our live page here.

  9. We're doing everything we can to get hostages home - Sunakpublished at 12:41 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Labour MP for Brent Central Dawn Butler asks about her constituent Noam Sagi, whose mother Ada was kidnapped by Hamas in Israel on 7 October.

    Butler says "we all condemn Hamas’s actions and fight for the return of all hostages".

    She adds that Noam "wants the language of love to be louder than the language of hate" and asks if the PM agrees that it's possible to support Israel but also call out breaches of international law.

    Sunak reiterates that he believes Israel has a right to defend itself but that it is important the country complies with international law.

    He adds that he has "enormous sympathy" with Noam and is "doing everything we can to bring hostages home".

  10. Tory MP calls for new law after Rwanda rulingpublished at 12:39 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Conservative Neil O'Brien says following the Supreme Court's ruling, a new law is needed to override the Human Rights Act and "the thicket of case law built up by legal activism".

    Sunak reiterates what he said earlier - that the government is working on a new Rwanda treaty to address the concerns of the court.

    He adds that he is willing to change the laws, if the current rules are still "frustrating" his plans to "stop the boats".

  11. What was Cameron's finest foreign policy achievement, asks MPpublished at 12:38 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    What was David Cameron's finest foreign policy achievement, asks Labour's Kevin Brennan, to some laughter on the benches.

    There are many, many to pick from, replies Sunak.

    "What I would say is that under his leadership this country hosted one of the most successful G8 summits of recent times," he adds.

  12. Labour attacks PM for number of housing secretariespublished at 12:35 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Next up is Labour's Janet Daby - the MP for Lewisham East in London. She brings up housing, and asks whether, since 2010, we've seen more Southampton managers being sacked or more housing ministers come and go.

    "The answer might help to explain why the government is failing so miserably in new home ownership," she says.

    Southampton FC has had a string of new managers after sacking its long-serving manager Ralph Hasenhuttl in November last year.

    Sunak replies that in the last figures, there was a record number of first-time buyers and "we're delivering a million homes over this Parliament as we said".

    "And when it comes to Southampton, I'm also pleased that we're on, I think, almost a seven or eight game unbeaten run."

  13. Tax burden still 'biting' working people - Tory MPpublished at 12:34 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Next, a question from Greg Smith, the Tory MP for Buckingham. Smith welcomes today's news on inflation but says the tax burden continues to "bite" working people. Will the PM return "fairness to the tax thresholds", he asks.

    "I share his ambition to cut taxes for working people," Sunak responds.

    He reiterates his view that cutting inflation - as reflected in today's statistics - is the best tax cut he can deliver. (Inflation isn't a tax, but lower inflation does help people's wallets.)

    By contrast, he alleges, Labour would "make it worse" by borrowing.

  14. Sunak pressed on Cameron's appointmentpublished at 12:33 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Labour MP Nick Smith asks Sunak about the appointment of David Cameron as foreign secretary. He describes the former prime minister as "the well-paid public face of Lex Greensill".

    Two years ago, BBC Panorama revealed internal documents suggesting Cameron made about $10m (£8.2m) jetting around the world to promote Lex Greensill's highly controversial finance business, Greensill Capital.

    Smith says Greensill's companies are facing criminal investigations in Switzerland, Germany and in the UK.

    During the pandemic, Smith says Cameron messaged ministers and officials 62 times over Greensill's Covid loan guarantees - something he says the Commons Treasury Committee called "a significant lack of judgement".

    He asks what the appointment of Cameron as foreign secretary says about the PM's own judgement.

    In response, Sunak says the government commissioned a review of all these issues and strengthened the system following recommendations.

    He adds that Cameron has "unrivalled experience of foreign affairs".

    A spokesman for David Cameron has previously told the BBC he acted in good faith at all times and there was no wrongdoing in any of the actions he took.

    You can read more about Cameron's association with Greensill Capital here.

  15. Tory MP asks about compensation for those hit by axing of HS2published at 12:29 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Just before Stephen Flynn, we heard from Conservative MP Michael Fabricant, who thanked the PM for "having the guts" to stop the high speed rail link HS2 and asked what compensation his constituents disrupted by preparations to build the line would receive.

    Sunak said that "wherever property has been acquired for HS2, owners have been compensated and any outstanding cases will be settled".

    He added that the government was developing a programme to sell the surplus land from HS2.

  16. How much worse must things get in Gaza, SNP askspublished at 12:27 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Stephen Flynn speaks in the House of CommonsImage source, House of Commons

    The SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn asks Rishi Sunak how much worse the situation needs to get in Gaza, saying "babies in the neonatal intensive care unit are dying because they don't have access to oxygen".

    "This is a question of values and it is a question of conscience," he says, as he calls for a free vote for MPs on calling for a ceasefire.

    Sunak says it's right Israel is able to defend itself and the government has "consistently" called for humanitarian pauses.

    "That's the right thing to do, we will continue to do everything we can to alleviate the suffering that the Palestinian people are undergoing."

  17. No-one can deny suffering in Gaza - Sunakpublished at 12:26 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Next up is the SNP's Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, who turns to Gaza - asking if the territory could soon turn from an "open-air prison" into a "graveyard" if there is no immediate ceasefire.

    "No-one can deny the suffering that the people in Gaza are undergoing," Sunak replies.

    That's why the government is doing "everything we can to get aid into the region", he says.

    He says the government believes in "humanitarian pauses" to get aid in and let hostages out.

    But he does not answer the part of Flynn's question about whether his MPs will be allowed a free vote on whether the UK will officially call for a ceasefire.

  18. We've eased burdens for families across country - PMpublished at 12:22 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Sunak says the cost of living is the number one challenge facing families - but "today was the day we delivered on the most important pledge I made - to halve inflation".

    "Delivering on a commitment, easing the burden for families up and down the country. What we would see from the party opposite is everything that would jeopardise that progress."

    He says by comparison, Starmer would be "giving in to inflation-busting pay rises".

  19. PM 'fan-boying' Elon Musk instead of helping working people - Starmerpublished at 12:21 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Starmer says Sunak has had "three reshuffles, a forgotten conference speech, an empty King’s Speech" and even found time to "fan-boy Elon Musk".

    But the Labour leader claims none of this has made "the slightest difference" to the lives of working people.

    “He likes to think of himself as the man from Silicon Valley, the tech savvy Californian, the country’s first AI PM, and yet his big idea is to keep turning his government on and off at the wall and hope that we’ll see signs of life," Starmer says.

  20. Plenty of tribal noise in the Commonspublished at 12:18 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Chris Mason
    Political editor

    Central to the rows at today’s PMQs are the company that Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have kept.

    Sunak has returned to one of his key attack lines — Starmer serving in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.

    Starmer went for Sunak’s decision to make Suella Braverman his home secretary.

    Plenty of tribal noise in here today.