Boris Johnson joins uprising against Rishi Sunak on Rwanda Bill as Tory rebels look to DERAIL Prime Minister's plans

MPs will debate the amendments today and tomorrow, before a vote on the Bill tomorrow evening.

Just 29 Tory MPs voting against the bill on Wednesday could derail the legislation.

WATCH: Tory MPs continue to Defy Sunak over Rwanda bill

Writing on X this morning, the former Prime Minister said: "Governments around the world are now trying to imitate the UK Rwanda policy for tackling illegal people trafficking.

"This bill must be as legally robust as possible - and the right course is to adopt the amendments."

The former Prime Minister lent his support to more than 60 Conservative MPs who are pushing for a tougher bill, over concerns the legislation does not go far enough in preventing asylum seekings from appealing their removal to Rwanda.

Conservative Party deputy chairmen Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith also publicly lent their support to the amendments yesterday, saying they will be voting with the rebels.

Anderson, who was only appointed deputy chair last February, said he signed amendments put forward by Brexit veteran Sir Bill Cash and former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick. Clarke-Smith joined him just minutes later.

Sunak will come under mounting pressure to sack Anderson and Clarke-Smith for defying his orders to support the legislation.

The two Red Wall MPs are not officially on the Tory frontbench but are expected to support the PM's line, given their prominent positions in the party.

But Anderson rejected the suggestion his announcement amounted to a "rebellion".

He told GB News: "There's talk about being sacked and resignation and all this. The most important thing to me is not my role, as a deputy chairman, the most important thing to me is making sure this legislation works and I speak on behalf of the people of Ashfield."

Anderson said he agrees with "90 per cent of the bill" but wants it to be "beefed up".

Clarke-Smith also told this broadcaster: "The fact of the matter is we all want to make this legislation work. Sometimes you have to say what is in your heart, sometimes you have to say what you think is going to make that legislation better."

Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman told GB News last week that she will be voting against the legislation if amendments are not introduced.

Meanwhile, former minister Simon Clarke warned: “If things go wrong, there are a number of us who have shown before, just as we did on Theresa May’s soft Brexit legislation, that we won’t hesitate to act on principle to actually get things done. We were right then and we were right now.

“The public is absolutely exhausted of politicians who are only prepared to offer half measures, and to see our country limp along in a stupor of inaction and failure.

"Enough. We either amend this bill so that it will work, or we face utter disaster when it becomes clear over the months ahead that it does not deliver. Many of us will not stand idly by and let that happen.”

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But Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stridedenied that there is chaos in the Conservative Party over the Rwanda Bill, insisting that MPs are united in their desire to stop small boats crossing the Channel.

He told GB News: “Although people have quite rightly, very strong views about the Rwanda Bill, and the reason for that in fact is that we are all united in a very clear sense that we need to get this bill through to in order to create a deterrent such that we stop this terrible trafficking of people across the Channel.

“And let's not forget that over the weekend we had yet another tragic loss of life in those dark cold waters of the channel. We need to stop that. We also need to build on the progress that we're making.

“We've seen a reduction of 36% in the level of crossings across the Channel. That compares to very strongly rising figures actually across Europe, including an 80% increase in the case of Italy.”