LONDON, Dec 12, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday 
sought to avoid a humiliating defeat for his latest plans to send migrants to 
Rwanda that have split his ruling Conservative party.

The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill is Sunak's answer to a 
unanimous Supreme Court ruling last month that deporting asylum seekers to 
Rwanda was illegal in international law.

Interior minister James Cleverly admitted the plans were "novel" and "pushing 
at the edge of the envelope" but addressed the court's concerns.

Extreme action was needed to break the business model of "evil people-
smuggling gangs" preying on the vulnerable, he told MPs before a debate and 
crunch vote on the proposals.

"This is lawful, this is fair, this is necessary... This is how we restore 
confidence in our immigration and take control of our borders," he said.

The bill is part of wider government action to cut record levels of regular 
and irregular immigration that is likely to be a key issue at next year's 
election.

But by seeking to declare Rwanda safe -- despite concerns from human rights 
monitors -- and removing legal challenges to deportation orders, Sunak has 
triggered deep factional Tory in-fighting not seen since wrangling over what 
form Brexit should take.

Hardline right-wingers say the proposals are not tough enough, while more 
liberal Tories are concerned it could see the UK break international law if 
the proposals are amended down the line.

Defeat would not only be the first at such an early stage of the 
parliamentary process since 1986 but also a blow to his authority, just over 
a year since he became Tory leader.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said he expected the government to win the vote 
but Sunak should call a general election if he loses.

- Breakfast meeting -

Sunak, who is well behind opposition Labour in the polls, has staked his 
political reputation on controlling immigration as one of his key policies.

In a bid to appease opponents Tuesday, he invited potential rebels for 
breakfast at Downing Street to get them to back the bill -- or risk it 
falling at the first hurdle.

"Take back control" was a mantra for Brexit supporters like Sunak during the 
2016 referendum on European Union membership.

But Tory governments have found the reality of policing UK borders since 
leaving the EU in full in 2021 more problematic.

The UK-Rwanda deportation plan was first announced by Sunak's predecessor 
Boris Johnson last year as a way of dealing with increasing numbers of 
migrants crossing the Channel from France in small boats.

Starmer called the policy, which has cost o240 million ($300 million) without 
anyone being sent to Rwanda, a "perfect example" of the "cultural stain that 
runs through the modern Conservative Party".

"Not a single person has been sent and even if we did send people, we would 
pay for their hotels and upkeep.

"And we'd have to resettle refugees from Rwanda in exchange. That's the deal 
that they are voting on today," he said.

Net migration -- the difference between the number of people arriving and 
those leaving -- stood at a record 750,000 last year.

Sunak's government has since announced plans including higher minimum 
salaries for economic migrants, and restrictions on accompanying family to 
cut numbers, prompting widespread criticism.

But it also wants to cut asylum applications due to a backlog of cases from 
"small boats" crossings, blaming them for adding pressure and an estimated o8 
million-a-day cost on public services.

One provision of the bill is to house migrants deemed to have arrived 
illegally in purpose-built detention centres, to ease accommodation 
pressures.

Just before Cleverly spoke, UK authorities confirmed the sudden death of an 
asylum seeker on an accommodation barge docked off southwest England.

No further details were immediately available but Care4Calais chief executive 
Steve Smith accused the government of inflicting further trauma on migrants.