Suella Braverman refuses to say Rishi Sunak will lead the Tories into the next election as she warns the PM ‘can’t keep failing the British people’ on Channel boats crisis

Suella Braverman stepped up her attack on Rishi Sunak today as she dodged saying he will lead the Tories into the next election.

The former home secretary repeatedly refused to give the PM her full-hearted backing as she demanded he ‘changes course’ by toughening his new Rwanda plan.

In an interview, Ms Braverman said the ‘time for talk’ on tackling illegal immigration is over and the government ‘can’t keep failing the British people’.

The ex-minister has put herself at the head of a revolt by the Tory right over Mr Sunak’s latest bid to ‘Stop the Boats’. 

New emergency legislation would compel judges to treat Rwanda as a safe country after the Supreme Court ruled the scheme was unlawful over risks to refugees.

It also gives ministers the powers to disregard sections of the Human Rights Act.

But it does not go as far as allowing them to dismiss the European Convention on Human Rights, as hardliners including Ms Braverman have demanded.

Suella Braverman repeatedly refused to give the PM her full-hearted backing as she demanded he ‘changes course’ by toughening his new Rwanda plan

The ex-minister has put herself at the head of a revolt by the Tory right over Mr Sunak’s (pictured) latest bid to ‘Stop the Boats’

Mr Sunak has been thrown into chaos by Robert Jenrick’s decision to quit as immigration minister just hours after the draft Bill was tabled, saying it ‘does not go far enough’ and is a ‘triumph of hope over experience’.

Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s flagship Today programme this morning, Ms Braverman warned that ‘ultimately this bill will fail’.

‘Taken as a whole and looking at the reality of the challenges that are involved in detaining people, removing people and getting them to Rwanda – this is a very litigious field and there are lots of legal frameworks that apply – the reality is and the sorry truth is that it won’t work and it will not stop the boats.’

Tweaks to the Rwanda plan would not be enough to get people on the plane to Africa, Ms Braverman said, adding that the new legislation would still allow legal claims that could block flights and ‘clog up the system’, potentially for years.

‘We can’t do half measures. We have to totally exclude international law – the Refugee Convention, other broader avenues of legal challenge,’ she said.

Mrs Braverman denied the Tories have a ‘death wish’ but said the party is in a ‘very perilous situation’.

‘The Prime Minister made the promise to stop the boats at the beginning of the year. We now need to deliver on that pledge,’ she said.

‘The time for talk, the time for slogans and promises is over. We need to show delivery and that’s what this debate right now is all about.’

Challenged over her actions and her controversial style, the ex-home secretary said she does not ‘shy away from telling people how it is’, even if ‘that upsets polite society’.

Robert Jenrick unleashed fresh Tory chaos last night as he resigned as minister for immigration

Ms Braverman said she ‘wants the PM to succeed’, but asked if she was angling to take over as Tory leader replied: ‘The reality is Nick, that we are all Conservatives.’

Pressed on whether Mr Sunak will lead the Tories into the next election, she replied: ‘I hope he does.’

Challenged again on whether Mr Sunak should remain leader if the Rwanda Bill doesn’t change, she said: ‘No-one is talking about leadership.

Cabinet minister Chris Heaton-Harris attempted to play down Tory divisions over the Rwanda policy following Mr Jenrick’s departure.

Asked if the vote on the Safety of Rwanda Bill would be treated as a matter of confidence in the Prime Minister, the Northern Ireland Secretary told Sky News that was a decision for the whips but ‘I can’t see why it would need to be because I think all Conservatives will vote for it’.

Asked if the Prime Minister would face a confidence vote, Mr Heaton-Harris told LBC: ‘I think it’s highly unlikely, very unlikely. I’d say vanishingly small.’

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