Rwanda bill: Keir Starmer attacks Tory ‘farce’ – as Rishi Sunak insists the small boats plan ‘will work’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has attacked the “farce” playing out in the Conservative Party over the government’s Rwanda bill, claiming Rishi Sunak’s plan had been “brutally exposed” by his own MPs.
Ministers insist the scheme to deport asylum seekers who arrive via small boats is “the most robust” immigration legislation ever presented to the Commons, and will revive the plan after it was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court late last year.
But right-wing factions within the Tories want it to go even further – especially on limiting appeals and disapplying international law – and 60 MPs rebelled against the government on Tuesday night to support toughening up the bill.
Follow live: Starmer drops expletive in criticism of Rwanda plan
Further amendments are being debated today, with more rebellions on the cards for later – including threats from some senior Tories that they could vote down the bill in its entirety if ministers don’t accept their proposals.
But Mr Sunak would face further rebellion from the centrist wing of his party if he conceded to the right-wing demands.
Rishi Sunak said Labour was weak on immigration at PMQs
‘Bald men scrapping over a single broken comb’
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) shortly before the second day of debate on the legislation began, Sir Keir compared the Conservatives to “hundreds of bald men scrapping over a single broken comb”.
The Labour leader said the “open revolt” within the Tories against “his policy, each other and reality” proved the “gimmick” of the Rwanda bill was set to fail.
“It’s such utterly pathetic nonsense,” he said, adding: “If the prime minister can’t even persuade his own MPs it is worth supporting him… why on earth should anyone else think differently?”
But Mr Sunak stood by his new legislation, despite the rebellions and the criticism, telling the Commons: “I have absolute conviction that the plan we have in place will work, absolute conviction, because I think it is important that we grip this problem.”
He said it was “important that we have a working deterrent” to put asylum seekers off from making the dangerous journey, and claimed it had legal backing too.
“Four eminent KCs have said it is undoubtedly the most robust piece of immigration legislation this parliament has seen,” said the prime minister.
“And a former Supreme Court justice has been clear that the bill works too.”
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Rebels seeking Downing Street talks
His appearance at PMQs was Mr Sunak’s last chance to publicly appeal to his backbenchers to get behind the government’s plans before the second day of debate began.
However, one of the rebels, former education minister Jonathan Gullis, told Sky News earlier that he and his allies were keen to “get into 10 Downing Street today” to “talk it out and find a way forward so we can avoid colleagues choosing to either abstain or go in the opposite lobby”.
The government has offered limited concessions to the rebels, including increasing the number of judges to take on deportation appeals, and hinting they could change the civil service code to ensure ministers’ decisions over disapplying international human rights law would be followed.
But further amendments – specifically around injunctions by international courts grounding flights to Rwanda – are expected today, and more rebellions could take place.
Some Tory backbenchers have even said they are prepared to vote down the bill when it is put to parliament later this evening, including former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, Mr Gullis and ex-housing secretary Simon Clarke.
But it will take around 30 Conservatives to vote against it for the bill to fall.
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Rwanda bill ‘a bucket full of holes’
After six hours of debate on Tuesday, 60 Conservative MPs voted in defiance of the government to back amendments limiting appeals against deportation.
A second amendment around the same issue, put forward by Mr Jenrick, also secured the support of 58 Tories.
Two deputy chairmen of the Tory party and one ministerial aide quit their posts in order to back the rebels.
However, the majority of MPs from all parties voted against the proposals, meaning they were not added to the bill.
Meanwhile, at the World Economic Forum, the president of Rwanda has cast doubt on the future of the scheme.
Asked by Sky News’s Ed Conway if the deal between the two countries – costing the British government £240m so far – was working, Paul Kagame said it was a matter for the UK.
And asked if Rwanda was a safe country for refugees, he said again: “Ask the UK – it’s the UK’s problem.”
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‘Is your country safe?’
Speaking to the Guardian, however, Mr Kagame added: “There are limits for how long this can drag on.
“The money is going to be used on those people who will come. If they don’t come we can return the money.”
Politics
Starmer and Trump discuss ‘productive negotiations’ towards US-UK trade deal, Downing Street says
Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have discussed the “productive negotiations” towards a UK-US “economic prosperity deal”, Downing Street has said.
The two leaders discussed a possible deal in a phone call on Sunday and agreed negotiations will “continue at pace”, according to a statement.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister spoke to president Trump this evening.
“The president opened by wishing His Majesty the King best wishes and good health.
“They discussed the productive negotiations between their respective teams on a UK-US economic prosperity deal, agreeing that these will continue at pace this week.
“Discussing Ukraine, the prime minister updated the president on the productive discussions at the meeting of the Coalition of Willing in Paris this week. The leaders agreed on the need to keep up the collective pressure on Putin.
“They agreed to stay in touch in the coming days.”
Earlier this week, Mr Trump announced a new 25% tariff on all imported cars – threatening UK producers’ largest single export market.
Signing an executive order on Wednesday, Mr Trump said the tax would kick in on 2 April – what he has called “liberation day”.
British manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce stand to be worst affected by the tariffs.
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Trump ‘wants lasting peace in Ukraine’
But the government has signalled it would not retaliate – mirroring its response to the tariffs on steel and aluminium imposed globally by the Trump administration earlier this month.
Tariffs are a key part of Mr Trump’s efforts to reshape global trade relations.
He plans to impose what he calls “reciprocal” taxes on “liberation day” that would match tariffs and sales taxes levied by other nations. The extent of potential tariffs and countries affected remains unclear.
He has already placed a 20% tax on all imports from China.
He also placed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10% tariff on Canadian energy products in addition to the duties on all steel and aluminium imports, including those from the UK.
The two leaders spoke last Sunday in a “brief call” about the economic prosperity deal, and again nearly three weeks ago ahead of the US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Starmer and Mr Trump appeared to have a warm personal relationship when they met in the Oval Office last month.
But just a day later, the US president along with vice president JD Vance delivered a dressing down to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy – marking a major shift in the US approach to Ukraine and cementing Mr Starmer’s position as a bridge between Europe and the US in the peace talks.
Mr Starmer and Mr Trump also spoke twice before they met in person.
The government plans to change the law so it can overrule Sentencing Council guidelines following a row over “two-tier justice”, Sky News understands.
The independent Sentencing Council, which sets out sentencing guidance to courts in England and Wales, has been at odds with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood for weeks after it updated its guidance.
It said that from April, a pre-sentence report, the results of which are taken into account when considering a criminal’s sentence, will “usually be necessary” before handing out punishment for someone from an ethnic, cultural or faith minority, alongside other groups such as young adults aged 18 to 25, women and pregnant women.
Conservative shadow justice minister Robert Jenrick called the guidance “two-tier justice” and said there was “blatant bias” against Christians and straight white men, as he said it would make “a custodial sentence less likely for those from an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community”.
Ms Mahmood had called on the Sentencing Council to reverse the guidance, but it refused, which Sir Keir Starmer said he was “disappointed” with, and the justice secretary called “unacceptable”.
Sir Keir Starmer said he was ‘disappointed’ the Sentencing Council will not reverse its guidelines. File pic: Reuters
Before the weekend, Sir Keir said “all options are on the table” over how the government might respond.
But sources have now told Sky News the Ministry of Justice plans to legislate at the “earliest opportunity” to be able to overrule sentencing guidelines.
Ministers could introduce the legislation as early as Monday so they can “push it through parliament”, so the current guidelines can be changed quickly.
Until the law is changed so the government can dismiss the Sentencing Council guidelines, the body can plough ahead with the changes as it is independent of the state.
Read more:
Sentencing Council rejects minister’s call for guidance rethink
What are pre-sentence reports and why the controversy?
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‘Blatant bias against straight, white men’
In reply to Ms Mahmood’s letter calling for a reversal, the Sentencing Council’s chair, Lord Justice William Davis, said on Friday that the reforms reflect evidence of disparities in sentencing outcomes, disadvantages faced within the criminal justice system and complexities in the circumstances of individual offenders.
He said pre-sentence reports allow judges to be “better equipped” to “avoid a difference in outcome based on ethnicity”.
“The cohort of ethnic, cultural and faith minority groups may be a cohort about which judges and magistrates are less well informed,” he added.
Sky News has contacted the Sentencing Council for a comment on the potential law changes.
Concerns over a global trade war continue to pressure traditional and cryptocurrency markets as investors brace for a potential tariff announcement from US President Donald Trump on April 2 — a move that could set the tone for Bitcoin’s price trajectory throughout the month.
Trump first announced import tariffs on Chinese goods on Jan. 20, the day of his inauguration as president.
Global tariff fears have led to heightened inflation concerns, limiting appetite for risk assets among investors. Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen 18%, and the S&P 500 (SPX) index has fallen more than 7% in the two months following the initial tariff announcement, according to TradingView data, TradingView data shows.
“Going forward, April 2 is drawing increased attention as a potential flashpoint for fresh US tariff announcements,” Stella Zlatareva, dispatch editor at digital asset investment platform Nexo, told Cointelegraph.
S&P 500, BTC/USD, 1-day chart. Source: TradingView
Investor sentiment took another hit on March 29 after Trump pressed his senior advisers to take a more aggressive stance on import tariffs, which may be seen as a potential escalation of the trade war, the Washington Post reported, citing four unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
The April 2 announcement is expected to detail reciprocal trade tariffs targeting top US trading partners. The measures aim to reduce the country’s estimated $1.2 trillion goods trade deficit and boost domestic manufacturing.
Related: Bitcoin ‘more likely’ to hit $110K before $76.5K — Arthur Hayes
Bitcoin ETFs, whales continue accumulating
Despite mounting uncertainty, large Bitcoin holders — known as “whales,” with between 1,000 BTC and 10,000 BTC — have continued to accumulate.
Addresses in this category have remained steady since the beginning of 2025, from 1,956 addresses on Jan. 1 to over 1,990 addresses on March 27 — still below the previous cycle’s peak of 2,370 addresses recorded in February 2024, Glassnode data shows.
Whale address count. Source: Glassnode
“Risk appetite remains muted amid tariff threats from President Trump and ongoing macro uncertainty,” according to Iliya Kalchev, dispatch analyst at Nexo, who told Cointelegraph:
“Still, BTC accumulation by whales and a 10-day ETF inflow streak point to steady institutional demand. But hawkish surprises — from inflation or trade — may keep crypto rangebound into April.”
Related: $1T stablecoin supply could drive next crypto rally — CoinFund’s Pakman
The US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds halted their 10-day accumulation streak on March 28 when Fidelity’s ETF recorded over $93 million worth of outflows, while the other ETF issuers registered no inflows or outflows, Farside Investors data shows.
Bitcoin ETF Flows. Source: Farside Investors
Despite short-term volatility concerns, analysts remained optimistic about Bitcoin’s price trajectory for late 2025, with price predictions ranging from $160,000 to above $180,000.
Magazine: SCB tips $500K BTC, SEC delays Ether ETF options, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Feb. 23 – March 1
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