Summary

  • Former home secretary Suella Braverman warns the Tories they face "electoral oblivion" if their promised legislation on sending asylum seekers to Rwanda fails

  • She was giving a personal statement in the Commons after the PM sacked her last month - a move which came just before the Supreme Court ruled the government's plan unlawful

  • Earlier, PM Rishi Sunak was given his weekly grilling by MPs at Prime Minister's Questions in a week that has seen his new home secretary, James Cleverly, announce new measures to curb migration

  • Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda was a "gimmick" and a new deal means some refugees will come to the UK from the African country

  • But Sunak said the Rwanda policy was an "effective deterrent" and his plans would ensure the concerns of the Supreme Court - which ruled it was unlawful - were addressed

  • The PM and Labour leader's clashes came in a week where the government also announced new measures to cut legal migration

  • Immigration is shaping up to be a key issue ahead of the next general election, expected in 2024, and was a key focus of last week's PMQs

Live Reporting

Edited by Heather Sharp and Paul Gribben

  1. PM on his way to Qs

    Sunak holds a red folder, walking past the door of Number 10PA Media

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has left No 10 Downing Street and is on his way to the House of Commons for PMQs.

    We will bring you all the key lines here, and you can watch along by pressing Play at the top of this page.

  2. More Tory divisions on show over Sunak's Rwanda policy

    Ahead of PMQs and the publication of the government's Rwanda legislation in the coming days, further evidence has emerged of the divisions within the Conservative Party over the issue.

    Yesterday, Home Secretary James Cleverly signed a new treaty with Rwanda, designed to satisfy the UK Supreme Court's concerns about human rights which led it to rule that plans to send some asylum seekers to the country were unlawful.

    Cleverly's predecessor, Suella Braverman, who's expected to make a personal statement in the Commons later after she was sacked by Sunak last month, has argued the UK must override human rights law to push through the plan.

    But some MPs from the One Nation Caucus, which has a current membership of 106 Conservative MPs, have described this as a "red line" and urged the PM to ignore such calls.

  3. What is the UK's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda?

    In short, it’s part of the government's wider efforts to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats.

    As we’ve been reporting, the government says its new deal with Rwanda guarantees that any asylum-seekers sent there are not at risk of being sent to a third country where they could face harm.

    It has also announced a new independent monitoring committee, to ensure Rwanda complies with the treaty, and a new appeal body.

    The government is preparing emergency legislation to declare that Rwanda is a safe country, but legal experts have questioned how that might work.

    Former Supreme Court judge Lord Jonathan Sumption told the BBC that the government's plan to get round the Supreme Court ruling (that the policy is unlawful) this way was "profoundly discreditable" and it would still be a breach of the government's obligations under international law.

  4. What's been announced this week?

    British Home Secretary James Cleverly talks with Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Vincent Biruta as they sign a new treaty, in Kigali, Rwanda, December 5, 2023. The treaty will address concerns by the Supreme Court, including assurances that Rwanda will not remove anybody transferred under the partnership to another country. REUTERS/Jean BizimanaReuters

    Cleverly talks with Rwandan foreign minister Vincent Biruta as they sign a new treaty, in Kigali

    While we wait for this week’s PMQs to begin, here’s a quick breakdown of the migration-related policies that have been announced by Home Secretary James Cleverly this week.

    On Monday, in a speech to the Commons he said:

    • The minimum salary needed to get a skilled worker visa for the UK is increasing to £38,700 - an increase of more than 30% on the current level
    • Health and social care visas will be exempt from the new higher threshold, in order to meet NHS staffing needs, but care workers will no longer be allowed to bring their dependents to the UK
    • The "shortage occupation list" is being reformed, with a reduced number of jobs that can be filled by overseas workers
    • And the salary level for a family visa - separate to work and student visas - is also rising to £38,700

    And yesterday, on a trip to Rwanda, Cleverly:

    • Signed a new legally binding treaty, which the government says will ensure people relocated to Rwanda are not at risk of being returned to a country where their life or freedom will be threatened.

  5. Welcome

    Heather Sharp
    Live reporter

    Hello, you join us with about half an hour to go until this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), where we’ll see Rishi Sunak take questions from opposition leaders and other MPs.

    It comes a couple of days after a range of new policies were announced by Sunak’s home secretary aimed at tackling migration to the UK, which reached a record-high of 745,000 last year.

    James Cleverly was also in East Africa yesterday, signing a new deal with Rwanda, as the government continues its bid to send asylum seekers there who attempt to enter the UK illegally.

    It’s thought MPs, including Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, will use their questions today to grill Sunak about the new measures - what they mean, how they’ll work, etc.

    I’m here in our London newsroom, along with colleagues at Westminster, ready to bring you the latest updates.

    You can also watch PMQs live from the House of Commons by tapping the Play button at the top of this page.