The Prime Minister of Great Britain Rishi Sunak today faced a revolt by British MPs because of his immigration policy, and at the same time he faced nagging questions from parliamentarians regarding his judgment during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This twin pressure - immigration policy and behavior during the pandemic - has given Sunak one of the toughest weeks since he became prime minister 13 months ago, with his authority and previous merits under attack.
Legislation that is supposed to save Sunak's blocked plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda will face a vote in Britain's lower house of parliament tomorrow.
While various groups of MPs from Sunak's Conservative Party today in Britain's highest legislative body examined the proposed immigration law and found loopholes in it, the prime minister was questioned for a full six hours as part of the investigation related to the events of the pandemic era, and he claimed that it was not public health. put in danger.
Sunak was head of the treasury in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government when the pandemic struck. He backed a discount-based initiative to encourage people to return to restaurants in August 2020 - after being closed for months.
The government's scientific advisers told the investigation that they were not informed in advance about the initiative, which scientists have linked to the increase in the number of patients. A senior government adviser on science called Sunak "Doctor Death" in a message he sent to his colleagues at the time.
Sunak denied that there was a "conflict between public health and the economy" at the time, and official figures show that the pandemic in the UK has claimed more than 230.000 lives.
He described himself, in his role at the time, as "the one who makes sure that the prime minister has the best possible advice, information and analysis about the economic impact" of potential measures, stressed that Johnson, the prime minister at the time, was "the ultimate and sole decision maker".
At an inquest last Sunday, Johnson dismissed suggestions he wanted to let the virus "run its course" through British society.
Sunak denied that at the end of June 2020 he saw the warning of the government's scientific advisors about the risks of opening society in the circumstances of the existence of the virus.
He defended his decision not to consult scientists on the Eat Out to Help Out plan, saying the government had "already made a collective decision to reopen closed public spaces", and said the policy helped to preserve the income of low-paid workers in bars and restaurants.
Sunak began his testimony at the inquest, apologizing to all those who suffered during the pandemic and saying it was important to "learn lessons so we can be better prepared in the future."
His testimony, however, did not include his Vocap text messages from that time, and Sunak claimed they had been lost because he had switched phones several times since then.
Johnson also couldn't show messages from several key months in 2020, saying they were left on his old phone that he forgot the password for and tech experts couldn't retrieve them.
Naomi Fulop of the COVID-19 pressure group Bereaved Families for Justice said Sunak's evidence showed he was a "danger to public health".
Meanwhile, Sunak is fighting to save the Rwanda plan, a key part of his program to prevent illegal migrants from crossing the Channel to England's southern shores in small boats.
The plan, worth 300 million dollars, includes housing hundreds of illegal migrants a year in Rwanda, while implementing the procedure for obtaining asylum.
However, no one has been sent there yet, and last month the UK Supreme Court ruled that the plan was illegal because Rwanda was not a safe destination for refugees.
In response, Britain and Rwanda signed an agreement pledging to strengthen protections for migrants, and Sunak's government says the deal allows it to pass legislation declaring Rwanda a safe destination - regardless of the Supreme Court's decision.
If passed by parliament tomorrow, the bill will allow the government to "disapply" parts of Britain's human rights law when it comes to Rwanda-related asylum claims.
The centrist part of the deputies of the Conservative Party opposes the law, because they believe that it circumvents the courts. Opposition also comes from the authoritarian part of the party, which considers the law to be too lenient, because it gives them legal ways to challenge deportation - and to do so before the European Court of Human Rights.
If the bill passes tomorrow's vote, there will be weeks of wrangling and additional votes in parliament.
With the defeat of the bill, the plan for Rwanda would be destroyed, Sunak's leadership would be called into question.
Sunak believes that the implementation of his plan to "stop the boats" will allow the conservatives to regain the now very weak voter confidence ahead of the parliamentary elections, which must take place next year. Opinion polls predict a defeat for the Conservatives.
But some conservative MPs believe that the plan will fail, and are even considering - changing the party leader. And to start the confidence vote procedure, it is enough for 53 conservative MPs to request it.
Others believe that another overthrow of the prime minister without holding elections would be tantamount to disaster, and Sunak is the third conservative prime minister since the last parliamentary elections in 2019. Before him, first Boris Johnson fell, and then, with record speed, his successor in office, Liz Truss.
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