Rishi Sunak, who is battling Liz Truss to win Conservative support in his bid to replace Boris Johnson, has announced plans for an annual cap on the number of refugees the UK takes in.
The former chancellor, who trails Truss by 24% according to a YouGov poll of Conservative MPs earlier this week, will pledge on Sunday to tackle illegal migration and regain control of the UK’s borders if he becomes the next leader of the Conservatives and Prime Minister.
He also reiterated that he would do “whatever it takes” to see the controversial Rwandan asylum scheme succeed.
The pledge to get tough on migration comes as his rival Truss told the Mail on Sunday he would extend the scheme to Rwanda and increase Border Force staffing levels from 9,000 to 10,800.
The foreign secretary also said that if she beats the former chancellor when the party members’ vote is called on September 5, she will introduce a strengthened UK Bill of Rights to provide a “strong legal basis” to tackle illegal migration.
Sunak’s main promise on asylum is to give Parliament control over who comes to the UK by creating an annual quota for the number of refugees accepted each year, barring sudden emergencies.
He said: “Our immigration system is broken and we need to be honest about it. Whether you think migration should be high or low, we can all agree that it should be legal and controlled.
“The system is currently chaotic, with law-abiding citizens seeing boats full of illegal immigrants coming from the safe side of France, with our sailors and coastguards seemingly powerless to stop them.
“This has to stop and if I’m prime minister I will stop it.
Sunak will opt for a narrower definition of who qualifies for asylum than that proposed by the European Convention on Human Rights, with expanded powers to detain, mark and monitor illegal migrants.
The Rwanda scheme remains in legal limbo, with the UK currently set to lose £120m it has paid to the East African country if the migrant deportation plan is ruled illegal by the courts.
Rwandan officials confirmed this week that they had received the full initial payment for the agreement signed in April and that the funds had already been “allocated”, with some money spent on preparations for arrival.
The first deportation flight – due to take off on June 15 – was canceled with the plane on the runway at Salisbury following the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights following a series of legal challenges by those on board.
A judicial review of the plan was due to be heard on July 19; however, charities including Care4Calais and Detention Action – which brought the case – said the hearing had been adjourned until September.
Last weekend, activists held protests across the country against the government’s “disgusting” policy of sending some migrants to Rwanda.
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