Boris Johnson has joined an uprising against Rishi Sunak, pushing for the Rwanda legislation to take a tougher approach.

He called for the Government to back amendments proposed by the right wing of the party, which have so far been supported by more than 60 Tory MPs.

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.

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."

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