One of Suella Braverman's allies was ousted by Rishi Sunak after backing the former Home Secretary's hard-line plan for Rwanda, insiders have claimed.
Leading human rights lawyer Lord Murray was sacked by Sunak in last week's reshuffle, which also saw Braverman removed from post.
Murray helped Sunak's 'Stop the Boats' Bill pass through the Lords and is said to have been one of three signatories to a letter penned by Braverman, in which she called for the UK to opt out of European human rights laws.
A source close to Braverman told the Telegraph: "The belief is he was sacked because he signed the hard-line Plan B letter despite being a leading lawyer".
Murray declined to comment and refused to confirm or deny whether his signature was on the letter.
Meanwhile, a Government source said it never comments on individual reshuffle decisions.
But they noted that Robert Jenrick - who was the third signatory of the letter - remains in post as Immigration Minister.
Sunak is currently scrambling to stay in control of the Conservative Party, after sacking Braverman last week.
The division in the party only escalated after the Supreme Court ruled that the party's plan to send migrants to Rwanda was unlawful.
There is currently a growing rift in the Cabinet over whether or not to impose emergency legislation to disapply the Human Rights Act and direct courts to ignore the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
This option is backed by Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick.
But other cabinet ministers, including Home Secretary James Cleverly, Attorney General Victoria Prentis and Justice Secretary Alex Chalk are all said to be on the fence about such a hard-line approach.
One senior government source described the strategy as “mad”, telling the Times the courts would go “ballistic” if it was pursued.
They also questioned whether Sunak would endorse the approach.
Another claimed the plan could lead to further legal challenges, delaying the Rwanda scheme further.
They said: "There’s a real danger in sounding tough but failing to deliver."
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Sunak is battling Cabinet division after the Supreme Court ruling on Rwanda
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Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that it would be unlawful for the UK to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, in a major blow to the Government.
All five justices unanimously agreed with the Court of Appeal’s conclusion that the Rwanda policy was unlawful.
Delivering his judgement, Lord Reed noted that "the court of appeal was right to overturn the high court's decision and to consider the evidence again for itself".
He cited concerns about "media and political freedom", the country's "poor human rights record" and a "misunderstanding of its obligations under the Refugee Convention".
