Nottinghamshire MP Robert Jenrick has resigned as immigration minister in a row over the government's Rwanda plan, a Home Office minister has said. The Newark MP, who was appointed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in October 2022, was missing from the frontbench at the House of Commons earlier.
Home Secretary James Cleverly was giving a statement to MPs on the government's bid to rescue the deal to fly migrants who arrive illegally in the UK to Rwanda. When asked by LBC if Mr Jenrick has resigned, Home Office minister Laura Farris said: "I understand that he has."
His departure comes after the government announced emergency legislation aimed at reviving the stalled Rwanda asylum policy. It avoided the most hard-line option to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), something many Conservative MPs have called for, including Suella Braverman.
In November, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the scheme was unlawful because of the risk that asylum seekers sent to Rwanda could be returned to their home countries, where they could face harm. Mr Jenrick has been contacted for comment.
