Politics latest: 'Enough is enough,' Sunak declares - Rwanda flights starting 'come what may' (2024)

A prime minister desperate to convince voters he and his party can still be trusted to "stop the boats", Rishi Sunak stood at the podium in Downing Street with the very slogan slapped on the front of it.

But is that slogan a reminder of a promise, or a reminder of a failure?

Calling a news conference to tell us all what you are doing to get this policy off the ground may seem rather unnecessary, but it is a warning shot to the Lords who have continued to stop the bill becoming law due to their concerns around its legality and protection of vulnerable people.

Mr Sunak insists flights will take off in 10 to 12 weeks from now, and that lawyers, judges and even courts have been prepared to deal with legal challenges and obstacles to getting flights off to Rwanda.

But even if flights do take off, is the public even listening anymore?

Public apathy and loss of trust could be Mr Sunak's biggest hurdle to climb, even if this embattled prime minister can prove he can make Suella Braverman's dream a reality.

Over a year ago, Rishi Sunak made five pledges for voters to judge him on.

One of the promises was to stop small boats crossing the Channel.

The PM said in his news conference earlier that the country can see the success of his efforts to stop illegal migration, noting that small boat crossings last year were down a third on the year before.

But so far this year, the number of people having made the crossing is higher than at the same time last year.

Use our tool below to see the PM's progress for yourself:

Here is the Liberal Democrats' reaction to Rishi Sunak's news conference...

The party leader, Sir Ed Davey, says: "No amount of sound bites or spin can change the fact that the Conservatives' Rwanda scheme is a colossal failure."

He accuses the government of having wasted "millions of pounds and years of government attention" on the policy.

"It's time for Rishi Sunak to get a grip, get to [Buckingham] Palace and give this country the election it is cryingoutfor."

We've just been hearing from our deputy political editor Sam Coateswith his reaction to Rishi Sunak's news conference.

"One of the ways in which to judge these press conferences is in terms of the new information - what is the prime minister telling us that we didn't know before?" Sam says.

"Effectively, the prime minister now formally confirmed there is yet another delay to the moment that flights will take off to Rwanda."

Rishi Sunak had promised to get flights off in the spring, but now it will be in late June or early July.

The other piece of new information is that the government expects "multiple flights a month through the summer", contradicting speculation that ministers would work to get one symbolic flight off the ground as proof of concept.

More broadly, Sam notes there are two questions about election timing, saying: "If there is no Rwanda policy, it feels very hard to read between the lines and get any hint that there will be an election pre-summer given that the policy won't be under way [at that point]."

That means we can "take as a broad hint" that the election will be, as the prime minister has previously said, in the second half of the year.

The main messages of that news conference were the level of preparation the government has been doing to get the policy and trying to blame Labour peers, though Sam said there are "many factors" that went into the delay.

He adds the deterrent of the policy, and therefore stopping small boats crossing the Channel, is the "mark of success in this policy".

"We'll just have to see whether it works," he says.

Rishi Sunak has now finished his news conference about the Rwanda scheme.

The PM was forceful in insisting the government will get flights off the ground "come what may", and blamed Labour peers for delaying the bill.

Scroll down to read what he said.

Rishi Sunak is asked whether he is still confident Rwanda is on board with the scheme, and says he met his counterpart the other week.

The two sides have a "good close relationship", he says, and Rwanda is "doing absolutely everything required to make sure the scheme is successful".

A joint monitoring committee has been set up, lawyers are ready and judges have been trained, Mr Sunak says.

The plan is "in very good shape".

Next to ask a question of the prime minister is ourpolitical editor Beth Rigby.

She asks if the passage of the bill will be a moment of success for him, and if he will need to remove thousands of people before the general election to close the vast gap in the polls with Labour and regain the trust of voters.

Rishi Sunak says: "Success is when the boats have been stopped. That's what the country expects, that's what the government and I are committed to delivering."

He admits the first flights taking off in 10-12 weeks is "later than we wanted", againblaming Labour peers in the House of Lords.

But, he says, "I think people can have some confidence about my commitment to deliver this because of our record to date."

He says there was a "general sense" when he took office that no one could stop the rise in illegal migration, but he says it is "fundamentally wrong" that people "jump the queue", which "puts pressure on service, and by the way, risks their lives".

The prime minister insists his record shows the government "can make a difference", pointing to illegal crossing being down by a third last year (although the number of people crossing in small boats is higher than this time last year).

He lists a number of successes the government has claimed, which he says should give people confidence that the small boats can be crossed.

"We're not there yet by any means, but the plan is working," he adds.

A reporter from GB News says it has been five months since the PM announced the "emergency" Rwanda legislation.

She then asks if the House of Lords is fit for purpose.

Rishi Sunak says the government has "worked at pace to deliver" because "this is an incredibly important issue for the country".

The patience of the country has "run out" and people are "fed up" with "people trying to block this policy", he says, blaming the judiciary and the legislature for the delays.

The government addressed the concerns of the Supreme Court "in a matter of weeks", Mr Sunak says, but he blames peers in the House of Lords for voting to block the bill.

"That happened just last week again. It will happen again today," he says, and repeats this is a priority for the country.

Nonetheless, he says, the government has been "working hard to prepare to implement" the policy.

Despite his criticisms of the House of Lords, however, he does not say whether it is fit for purpose.

The Daily Express asks whether Rishi Sunak has confidence in Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley after an antisemitism row.

The prime minister says he shared the "shock and anger many are feeling" when he saw the video clips at the centre of the row, but he still has confidence in Sir Mark.

Footage released last week showed antisemitism campaigner Gideon Falter being prevented by a police officer from crossing a road near a pro-Palestinian march in London.

The officer told Mr Falter, who was wearing a kippah skull cap, that he was "worried about the reaction to your presence" as he looked "openly Jewish".

The Met was forced to apologise, and then ended up apologising for its apology after suggesting opponents of pro-Palestinian marches "must know that their presence is provocative".

Mr Sunak says he has confidence in Sir Mark still "on the basis he works to rebuild the confidence and trust, not just of the Jewish community but of the wider public".

He says the police have a "difficult job" but "what happened was clearly wrong" and it is "right they've apologised for that".