Eyebrows were raised earlier after Downing Street confirmed it had summoned the climate minister to fly back from COP28 in Dubai so he could take part in tonight’s vote on the Rwanda bill.
Graham Stuart now appears to have landed – and been greeted with the headlines.
Posting on X – formerly known as Twitter – the minister shares a picture of Lord Benyon, the Tory peer who is climate minister in the Lords, saying how “proud” he is of the negotiating team, and his colleague especially, as he remains behind to represent the UK.
In a second post, Mr Stuart also remarks on the breakdown in talks over the phasing out of fossil fuels, writing: “Together we are pushing for a stepchange in ambition that keeps 1.5 degrees in reach.
“Yesterday’s draft does not go far enough, and I will only agree to a statement that agrees to a phase out of unabated fossil fuels to meet our climate goals.”
Whether these tweets will quieten the critics of the 6,313-mile round trip – he is heading straight back to the climate summit after the vote – is yet to be determined.
New Conservatives co-leaders confirm they will not back Rwanda bill
Danny Kruger and Miriam Cates, co-leaders of the New Conservatives group of right-wing Tories, have confirmed they will not vote for the bill tonight, in a blow to Rishi Sunak.
While it is not clear whether the rest of the 25-strong group will follow suit, it is likely their view will strongly influence their thinking.
In an op-ed for the Daily Telegraph, Mr Kruger and Ms Cates said that while the Rwanda bill “makes some important steps forward in addressing the issues raised by the Supreme Court”, “at its core the bill fails to establish the sovereignty of the United Kingdom parliament over immigration policy”.
They said this was because the bill will “still allow individual claims against deportation”.
The pair argue that because of this, it is “highly unlikely that this bill will ensure that significant numbers of migrants are sent to Rwanda before the next election”.
“The general public will rightly ask why parliament cannot close this loophole,” they said.
“And, as MPs elected on a mandate to ‘Take Back Control’ we can’t vote for a bill that fails to establish the superiority of our democratically-elected UK parliament over foreign courts.”
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