London, Thanasis Gavos

Massive “mutiny” of at least 58 members of his right wing Conservative Party Tuesday night marked the vote on proposed amendments to the controversial bill to send irregular migrants and refugees to Rwanda.

Among them were the two vice presidents of the party Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith who submitted their resignation to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

“Rebel” MPs believe the bill is not strict enough, as it potentially allows for individual appeals by those concerned against their transfer to Rwanda, where they are expected to eventually apply for asylum.

The bill is included as a deterrent measure in the plan of Mr. Sunak “to stop the boats” crossing the English Channel.

A number of Conservative MPs have tabled amendments tightening the bill, but raising doubts about its compliance with international obligations of Vasiliou and to international law.

Opposition parties, who argue that the bill is anyway “non-functional and illegal”, also submitted amendments but in the other direction. They mainly tried to counter the provision of the bill which states that Rwanda should be considered a safe third country (contrary to a verdict of the High Court in London).

In the end, all the amendments were rejected by a majority of MPs and the bill will in theory be submitted in its original form to a crucial approval vote in the plenary on Wednesday night.

The high number of insurgents is expected to cause Prime Minister Sunak to worry about even a possible defeat in this vote, despite widespread self-reliance in House of Commons.

The negative vote of 33 of its MPs is enough to create a crisis of confidence in the Sunak government, as political analysts point out.