Robert Jenrick is at risk of starting a war with centrist Conservative MPs, after issuing a warning over the controversial European Convention on Human Rights yesterday.
Many Tory MPs see the treaty as blocking the UK from controlling its borders fully, with Jenrick saying it is "out of date" with the current crises facing Europe.
Addressing the Commons, Jenrick said: "The framework of international treaties - many of which were forged in the years after the Second World War - now appear out of date with the challenges we face today, and that is a common sentiment shared by other European countries who we have been working closely with”.
The Immigration Minister warned that other European countries are "looking intently" at the UK's approach to tackling the migrant crisis, looking to follow suit if it is succesful.
Sir Bill Cash stopped short of demanding he Government withdraw from the treaty altogether
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He predicted that other European countries will initiate deportation agreements with third countries like Rwanda if the UK’s succeeds in its supreme court cases, taking place next month.
Veteran Conservative MPs Sir Bill Cash and David Jones demanded the Government go further in opposing the treaty in order to solve the mounting migrant crisis.
Jones demanded the Government renegotiate the terms of the ECHR with the Council of Europe, saying it is "quite clearly not protecting our borders, nor is it protecting the borders of many other countries across Europe."
Cash agreed, saying changes must be made. But he stopped short of demanding he Government withdraw from the treaty altogether.
He explained: "It’s not necessary to abolish the entire ECHR in these circumstances regarding the issue of illegal immigration, you can tailor legislation if a supreme court case were to go the wrong way, by using the notwithstanding formula and tailoring it to the specific requirements that are needed".
He said this approcach would be "limited but extremely effective".
But these comments are likely to trigger outrage among centrist Tory MPs, who want the UK to remain compliant with the ECHR.
This weekend, the Tory Reform Group (TRG) warned the PM not to withdraw from the ECHR in order to achieve deportations to Rwanda, saying it would be a "historic mistake".
They said such a move would risk jeopardizing the Northern Ireland peace process, as well as the UK's reputation and ability to "bring dangerous criminals to justice".
The TRG also insisted that ECHR membership was not incompatible with stopping the small boats carrying asylum seekers across the Channel.
A third of Rishi Sunak's Cabinet are understood to support a withdrawal from the ECHR, including Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
And almost 70 backbench Tory MPs lent their support to a vote in the Commons last year calling on Britain to quit the convention.
It is not just the UK facing spiralling migration - EU migration has skyrocketed in recent months, with asylum applications to the bloc set to surpass one million by the end of this year.
According to the European Asylum Agency, EU members recieved around 519,000 applications for asylum in the six month period from January and the end of June this year.
This is an increase of 28 percent, compared with the same period last year.
The figures represent the highest number since 2015 and 2016 when the bloc saw a major influx, primarily from Syrians fleeing war.
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A third of Rishi Sunak's Cabinet are understood to support a withdrawal from the ECHR, including Suella Braverman
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If the growth continues, this will leave the EU with applications exceeding one million by the end of this year, taking it into the millions by next year.
The UK has also seen growth in the number of asylum applications, but at a slower rate than the EU.
In the twelve month period ending in June 2023, the UK recieved 78,768 asylum applications (relating to 97,390 people).
This is a 19 percent increase on the number of applications in the year ending June 2022, which saw 66,384 applications, relating to 79,922 people.
