The ruling Conservative Party in the United Kingdom was in disarray after its immigration minister Robert Jenrick resigned over legislation involving the deportation of migrants to Rwanda.
The UK leader's job appeared threatened after Robert Jenrick announced his resignation owing to "strong disagreements with the direction" of the government's immigration policy.
The shocking resignation occurred when Rwanda threatened to withdraw from an agreement to welcome migrants if Britain did not follow international law.
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Former hardline interior minister Suella Braverman also issued Sunak an ultimatum to get stricter on immigration or face likely defeat in the next general election.
Jenrick quit when Sunak's administration issued emergency legislation to guarantee Rwanda is regarded as a safe place, following a ruling by UK Supreme Court judges last month that it was not.
Jenrick described the planned regulations as "a triumph of hope over experience" in his resignation letter to the prime minister.
"The stakes for the country are too high for us not to pursue the stronger protections required to end the merry-go-round of legal challenges which risk paralysing the scheme and negating its intended deterrent," he wrote.
This was interpreted as a reference to Sunak's unwillingness to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
When examining deportation cases, the bill proposes giving ministers the authority to disregard portions of the UK Human Rights Act and the ECHR.
Sunak responded by calling Jenrick's resignation "disappointing" and "based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation."