No10 tees up make-or-break showdown with Tory rebels on Rwanda: Rishi Sunak ‘threatens to call election’ if he loses vote on plan next week as Braverman wades in again despite MPs bewailing ‘complete mess’ after Robert Jenrick’s ‘petulant’ resignation

Rishi Sunak could threaten to call an election if Tory rebels ruin his new plan in Rwanda as the party sinks deeper into chaos.

Downing Street is reportedly mulling making the crucial debate on the bill next week a matter of confidence. By agreement, this would mean the prime minister would either resign or dissolve parliament if he lost.

Extraordinary tactics are being discussed following the high-profile resignation of Immigration Secretary Robert Jenrick last night. He resigned just hours after the bill was published, saying there was no chance of him launching deportation flights to the African country.

But one former cabinet minister told MailOnline that such pressure tactics would backfire by bringing a vote of no confidence closer.

– It will be worse for him. People will support them in the second reading and then simply add their letters,” they said.

While touring broadcast studios this morning, Northern Ireland Minister Chris Heaton-Harris also expressed reservations about the idea. He said it was up to the whips to decide, but “I don’t see why that should be the case because I think all Conservatives will vote for it.”

With Suella Braverman also criticizing Rwanda’s legislation as too weak, and many on the right sharing concerns, it is unclear whether the government has the votes to push the proposals through the House of Commons without amendments. Then he will face an even tougher fight in the House of Lords.

The party has returned to a feverish mood following the dramatic events, with veteran MPs bemoaning the “total mess” of Mr Sunak’s “Stop the Boats” vow. The Prime Minister warned last night at a meeting of the powerful 1922 Committee that the time had come to “unite or die”.

Mr Sunak has called on factions to unite to fight Labor rather than themselves following the publication of emergency legislation which he hopes will finally allow deportation flights to begin.

Although Mr Sunak said his new bill would ensure “our plan is unstoppable”, after his Supreme Court defeat he immediately faced criticism from the party right who believed he did not go far enough.

The Prime Minister gave his party an ultimatum to “come together as a team” during a speech to Conservative MPs at the 1922 Committee, where he called the legislation “the toughest anti-illegal immigration legislation we have ever seen.” ever placed in the House of Representatives.”

Mr Sunak said the bill needed to be passed with a strong majority to “challenge the Lords”, where it could face stiff opposition.

But he immediately faced criticism for avoiding the toughest option and not providing powers to ignore the European Convention on Human Rights.

In a strongly worded resignation letter, Mr Jenrick called the legislation “a triumph of hope over experience”.

However, a senior Conservative Party source hit back, calling Jenrick’s defection a “disgrace”.

A source said: “The Prime Minister trying to solve a serious problem is just petulant. It’s just insidious.

“They try to crash the party by throwing toys out of the pram to get attention.

“If you are truly serious about reducing immigration into this country – legal and illegal – you don’t leave. The surest way to achieve the opposite is if Keir Starmer becomes prime minister.”

Mr Jenrick has been on the brink for days, demanding Britain remove barriers to deportations from Rwanda by scrapping European human rights laws. Last night he admitted he was “unable to get the currently proposed bill through the House of Commons as I do not believe it gives us the best chance of success.”

He wrote: “The stakes for the country are too high for us to fail to take the stronger protections needed to stop the cycle of legal challenges that risk paralyzing the scheme and undermining its supposed deterrent.”

Former Interior Secretary Suella Braverman, who was fired last month, said the bill was “fatally flawed” and “won’t stop the boats.” But a government source told the Mail there is “no Suella option on the table” because both Rwanda and the UK want to remain within the bounds of international law.

Meanwhile, a veteran Tory MP told the Mail last night that there was a view among MPs that Ms Braverman had “repeated what she said before but it was time to move on”.

“The stalwarts around her will applaud, but many others will say, ‘You’ve made your point, now keep quiet, let’s move on – we have elections to fight,'” they said.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta said his country would not continue with the agreement if it violated international law.

Speculation about Mr Jenrick’s stance reached a fever pitch as he was nowhere to be seen while Home Secretary James Cleverley made a statement to MPs about the legislation at 6pm last night, 90 minutes after it was published.

The bill, designed to circumvent a Supreme Court decision last month that declared the scheme illegal, would override parts of the Human Rights Act and would “clearly” prevent the courts from intervening, Mr Cleverly said.

It also states that only ministers, not unelected judges, can decide whether to comply with Strasbourg regulations designed to block the scheme.

However, right-wing conservatives were outraged by the inclusion of an apparent loophole that would allow those selected for deportation to Rwanda to make legal claims based on “individual circumstances.”

Mr Sunak has received support from more centrist MPs, including the One Nation group. Tory whips warned him that up to ten ministers could resign if the government tried to circumvent the ECHR.

In a call for unity last night, Mr Sunak referred to his first appearance before the 1922 Committee since being elected Tory leader just over a year ago. He then warned disgruntled MPs that they must “unite or die.” Last night he said it was “one of those moments”.

Conservative MP Bob Seeley said MPs had heeded Sunak’s call, saying they should “stick together”. He told Times Radio: “These are complex issues. 100 million people around the world will be on the move in the next few years, and we simply cannot open our welfare state to everyone who can get here.”

Last night Sunak wrote to Jenrick saying he had a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the bill. The prime minister called his resignation “disappointing” and added that Rwanda would not accept a scheme that violated international law.

Mr Sunak added: “There would be no point in passing legislation that left us with nowhere to send people.”