Prime minister says he ‘will do whatever it takes’ as senior Tory criticises former home secretary’s hardline proposals

Downing Street has not ruled out asking MPs to spend some of what is meant to be their Christmas break dealing with the PM’s “emergency legislation” on Rwanda.

This is one proposal made by Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, in her Telegraph article this morning. (See 10.01am.)

I think we are prepared to do whatever is necessary to ensure that we can get this in place and get flights off the ground.

I wouldn’t speculate on parliamentary process but I cannot impress [enough] the importance that the prime minister places on this necessary legislation to deliver for the public on the important priority of stopping the boats.

Sunak suggested he would blame Labour if the Lords refuses to pass his “emergency legislation” on Rwanda (see 11.40am) quickly. Asked if he would call an early election if the Lords block the law, he replied:

It doesn’t have to take a long time to get legislation through – and that is a question for the Labour party.

We’re determined to get this through as quickly as possible. So the real question is: is the Labour party going to stand in the way and stop this from happening, or are they going to work with us and support this bill so we can get it through as quickly as possible?

Sunak declined to say whether favoured holding an early election on the issue of Rwanda deportations if his bill got held up. Earlier today Sir Simon Clarke suggested this. (See 10.56am.) But, for obvious reasons, the prospect might not appeal.

Sunak claimed he was making “real progress” on stopping small boats. He said:

I think people just want the problem fixed. That’s what I’m here to do, and this year, we’ve already got the numbers down by a third.

That’s because I’ve got new deals with the French, a new deal with Albania. We’re working with Turkey and Bulgaria, multiple other countries. We’re tackling the criminal gangs, we’re cutting through the backlog.

Sunak said he would “take on” people trying to stop Rwanda flights taking over, whether it was Labour or the House of Lords. He said:

We can pass these laws in parliament that will give us the powers and the tools we need. Then we can get the flights off and whether it’s the House of Lords or the Labour party standing in our way I will take them on because I want to get this thing done and I want to stop the boats.

He said his patience was “wearing thin” with this issue. He said:

People are sick of this merry-go-round. I want to end it – my patience is wearing thin like everyone else’s.