Mark Harper insisted the Government is “confident” Rishi Sunak’s plan to save the Rwanda migrant policy will work despite Suella Braverman warning it will fail unless the Prime Minister is more radical. 

Mr Sunak has vowed to strike a new treaty with Rwanda and pass “extraordinary” legislation declaring the country is “safe” for asylum seekers after the Supreme Court ruled the original deportation scheme was unlawful. 

But Mrs Braverman, the former home secretary, warned in a piece for The Telegraph that “tinkering with a failed plan will not stop the boats” and the PM’s approach would not enable flights to take off before the next election. 

However, Mr Harper rejected Mrs Braverman’s criticism, telling Sky News that he believed the new legislation and treaty will remedy the situation. 

He said: “That will make the position very clear for the courts and we are confident that that will enable us to send people to Rwanda to break the business model of these organised crime groups which is what the British people want us to do.” 

Asked when the first flight to Rwanda will take off, Mr Harper said: “We are still shooting and have the ambition to deliver those flights in the spring as planned and we think that delivering this new treaty and changing domestic legislation will enable us to do so.”

You can follow the latest updates below and join the conversation in the comments section here.