We earlier reported Home Secretary James Cleverly in the Commons, defending the government's migration record. We've now heard from his opposite number, Labour's Yvette Cooper:

• She demanded to know whether the bill for the Rwanda policy had reached £400m - the BBC recently reported the UK had paid Rwanda an extra £100m, on top of an existing £140m
• Like Keir Starmer before her, Cooper said Labour would use the money instead on bolstering cross-border law enforcement and "smashing" criminal gangs
• She told the Commons more home secretaries have been sent to Rwanda than asylum seekers - "it's about £100 million per trip", Cooper added

• She said the Rwanda bill has "become a proxy for the deep civil wars in the Tory party" - and claimed there was a "carousel of Conservative chaos"

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, EPA

As our colleague in Dubai mentioned a short while ago, Energy and Net Zero Minister Graham Stuart is flying back from the COP climate summit in Dubai to vote tonight in London.

A source tells me: "The UK's Chief Negotiator Alison Campbell continues to lead negotiations for the UK, and the UK government continues to be represented at a ministerial level at COP28 by Lord Benyon.

"Lord Benyon and Alison Campbell remain in constant contact with Minister Stuart, who is responsible for the final decision on key issues and retains responsibility for UK negotiations overall."

Sunak's afternoon meeting reveals his balancing actpublished at 13:42 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2023

13:42 GMT 12 December 2023

Chris Mason
Political editor

After the New Conservatives had their breakfast in Downing Street, this afternoon the One Nation group of Conservative MPs will meet the prime minister too.

It looks like the meeting will happen in Parliament.

The vast majority of them are expected to back the government.

But they will be seeking reassurances that any promises Rishi Sunak may have made to the New Conservatives – about changing the bill in the new year if the government wins tonight – wouldn’t leave it in a state that isn’t compatible with continuing support from the One Nation group.

Four sentences that tell you everything about how tricky this is for Downing Street.

Fact-checking claims about the government's migration policiespublished at 13:38 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2023

13:38 GMT 12 December 2023

As we just reported, James Cleverly said small boat arrivals in the UK are down by a third this year.

Looking at figures up to 13 November, 27,284 people had been detected crossing the English Channel in 2023, according to the Home Office, external.

At the same point in 2022, almost 42,000 people had been detected, so the number of crossing is indeed down by a third - but remains at a similar rate to 2021.

Image source, .

Home Secretary James Cleverly has just finished addressing MPs in the Commons.

Here's a brief round up of what he said:

• Cleverly told MPs that in recent years, some of the government's efforts to tackle illegal migration have been "frustrated by a seemingly endless cycle of legal challenges and rulings from domestic and foreign courts"
• Parliament and the British people "want an end to illegal immigration and they support the Rwanda plan", Cleverly insisted
• Listing the government's achievements, he claimed arrivals on small boats are down by a third this year as he said illegal entries "are on the rise elsewhere in Europe"
• He explained that returns agreements and co-operation deals have been signed with other countries
• "Rwanda stands ready to welcome the new arrivals. They stand ready to find a solution on this global issue rather than being part of a problem," he added
• Finishing his speech, Cleverly said the Rwanda bill is an "innovative and humane solution" to illegal migration

Away from the Commons, the former leader of the Conservative Party Iain Duncan Smith has just confirmed he'll be voting in favour of the Rwanda bill this evening.

"I think it's important that the government gets its second reading," he tells the BBC's Politics Live programme.

He says "on balance there are flaws with this bill" but he will still support it.

Duncan Smith expands in a post on X, formerly Twitter: "On balance there are flaws with the Rwanda bill and we can debate whether it's effective or not, but we can have these discussions in the committee and report stages to determine where it needs tightening up.

Home Secretary James Cleverly, positioned alongside PM Rishi Sunak and illegal migration minister Michael Tomlinson, is listing the government's achievements - as he sees it - in tackling illegal immigration.

Labour's amendment, which seeks to decline giving the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill a second reading, is currently being debated in the Commons.

Cleverly says Parliament and the British people "support the Rwanda plan", before blaming the courts for frustrating the scheme so far.

"In recent years, some of the government's efforts to tackle illegal migration and deport foreign national offenders have been frustrated by a seemingly endless cycle of legal challenges and rulings from domestic and foreign courts," he says.

He adds that the government respects court judgments "even when we disagree with them".

Inside the House of Commons the Speaker has just signalled the start of the debate on the Rwanda bill.

Home Secretary James Cleverly steps up to the dispatch box and begins first by acknowledging the death of an asylum seeker on board the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset. He says it will be investigated fully.

We'll bring you the key moments from this debate, and you can also watch it live at the top of this page.

Back in London, Rishi Sunak is having a frenetic day of lobbying various factions of Tory MPs to support his revised Rwanda policy.

But he also has to continue with his usual obligations as PM, and this morning he held his usual weekly cabinet meeting in Downing Street.

We've just seen pictures from this meeting, with the one below showing a smiling PM and Home Secretary James Cleverly.

Image source, No 10/ Flickr

Labour leader Keir Starmer has just predicted that the Rwanda legislation will pass its first vote in the House of Commons later.

Speaking to reporters after his speech in Milton Keynes, he said there will "be a lot of shouting and screaming but in the end, it'll go through".

"The prime minister's got an 80-seat majority. We shouldn't even be having a discussion about whether he's going to get his basic legislation through."

Starmer also noted a government hasn't lost a vote at this stage of the legislative process - known in Westminster as a "second reading" of the bill - since 1986

He added that Sunak should be able to pass it "very, very easily" given how many MPs he has in Parliament.

Tory infighting a gift for Starmer as he delivers change speechpublished at 12:10 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2023

12:10 GMT 12 December 2023

Damian Grammaticas
Reporting from Milton Keynes

Image source, PA Media

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has been speaking in Milton Keynes and his team say his speech today was planned long ago.

But they are clearly relishing the fact it’s turned out to be happening against the backdrop of Conservative infighting.

Planning this speech Labour wanted to show the party has moved on from its defeat in the election exactly four years ago.

They want to claim Labour is ready for government and offers a real change from the Conservatives at the next election.

So, the fact the Tories look like they are once again riven by disputes as they were in the Brexit debates is a political gift to Starmer and once he is hoping to exploit to the full.

His key message is that Labour has moved on and wants to put the country first and the Conservatives with their Rwanda splits have moved backwards, fighting over what he says is a “policy they know will never work”.

Georgina Rannard
Climate reporter at COP28 in Dubai

Last night, the UK said the latest climate deal on the table here at COP28 was "disappointing", as they wanted a "phase out of unabated fossil fuels".

Now we've had it confirmed that climate minister Graham Stuart has left the talks in Dubai and is heading back to London ahead of Rishi Sunak's key vote this evening.

The PM's spokesman says Stuart has returned to attend Parliament, but will then be going back to the global summit in Dubai. You can follow all the action from the last day of COP on our other page here.

Mark Francois, the chairman of the European Research Group, has told the BBC they will hold a meeting at 17:15 to "consider our approach to the Rwanda bill".

"As with yesterday, members from other groups, the New Conservatives, the Common Sense Group, the Conservative Growth Group and the Northern Research Group are also invited," he says.

Yesterday, the ERG released its legal advice about the Rwanda policy, taken on behalf of the collection of MPs and groups from the right of the Conservative Party.

The group's legal team says the bill does not go "far enough to deliver the policy as intended" - you can hear from Francois and ERG lawyer David Jones below:

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

There’s still seven long hours to go until tonight’s vote. Lots could change.

But as it stands the sense among MPs on the Conservative right is that the rebellion has cooled a little and the bill is more likely to pass than it appeared this morning.

Some of those who had been considering voting against the government are digesting the incendiary consequences and leaning towards abstaining again.

And even some of the MPs invited to breakfast at No 10 this morning - those who feel strongest on the subject - told their colleagues afterwards they would vote for the bill tonight in the hope of amending it later.

They believe Rishi Sunak held out an important olive branch over breakfast, telling them he was open to "tightening up" the bill.

Others who were at the meeting think that language is too vague and are furious with their fellow MPs.

"Some colleagues have become deluded into thinking they will have another shot to kill the bill later on," one told me.

Chris Mason
Political editor

I am told at their meeting in Downing Street with the prime minister, Danny Kruger - the co-chair of New Conservatives group of Tory MPs - told Rishi Sunak he had three options:

1. Pull the vote tonight
2. Make clear he would accept "significant" amendments in the new year if it passes
3. Press on regardless

The New Conservatives believe there is sufficient anger on the Tory backbenches that the government can be defeated.

"There are more than 29 Conservative MPs who are very, very concerned about this,” is how one source put it.

But, but, but: do they decide to vote against later, or abstain? And were some won around by the prime minister?

The European Research Group will meet at 17:00 to decide what they are planning to do. The New Conservatives are expected to be at that meeting too.

Meanwhile, the prime minister continues to make phone calls, and speak to people in person.

No 10 argue they want to "keep listening and keep talking" but also say they have limited room for manoeuvre.

The persuading, the arguing, the deciding continues.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Rishi Sunak told potential Tory rebels over breakfast this morning that he was willing to discuss "tightening up" his Rwanda legislation, according to MPs present.

The prime minister suggested he was open to tweaking the bill although MPs were unclear whether that would mean him accepting amendments.

Sunak emphasised that he had inherited the issue of high immigration from his predecessors.

Each MP present took turns to set out their views to him. Several told the prime minister they would not vote for the bill and were only considering whether to abstain or vote against.

However, it is understood that some MPs present are planning to vote for the government tonight in the hope the bill gets amended later.

At the meeting, many MPs present also criticised the whipping operation and told Sunak they should have been consulted before the bill was published.

It's not just MPs and journalists hanging around No 10 today.

Amid all the hive of activity in Westminster, a fox has just perched itself outside Downing Street and next to the huge Christmas tree - probably hoping for some leftovers from this morning's breakfast meeting.

Image source, Reuters

As we've reported, Rushi Sunak is spending the day meeting Conservative MPs, before the vote on the new Rwanda bill tonight.

He's also trying to persuade them - and the country at large - on social media.

"Today MPs will vote on the toughest ever anti-illegal immigration legislation," the prime minister has just said on X., external

"This bill will allow us to control who comes into this country - not criminal gangs or foreign courts.

"To stop the boats, we need to back this bill."

We're still waiting to hear from the New Conservatives group of MPs who met Rishi Sunak at No 10 this morning.

The group left without answering questions from waiting reporters, and have been in meetings since teasing out their position on the PM's Rwanda bill.

Image source, Getty Images

In an earlier post, we said the New Conservatives were offered smoked salmon during their breakfast meeting with the prime minister in Downing Street.

We now hear it was actually bacon butties with a choice of red or brown sauce.

More from our sauces - sorry, sources - as we have it...