Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have joined forces to pile pressure on Rishi Sunak over the government’s plan to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda.
The high-profile pair are backing a bill which would give the government the authority to ignore European judges’ rulings on the controversial policy.
Patel unveiled the policy earlier this year after signing an agreement with the African nation.
But not a single asylum seeker has yet been deported after the European Court of Human Rights blocked the first flights due to take off in June.
In a bid to end the impasse, Tory MP Jonathan Gullis has tabled the Asylum Seekers (Removal to Safe Countries) Bill, which would “ensure that parliament, not unaccountable foreign judges in Europe, have the final say”.
Among those who have signed the bill are Johnson, Patel, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries - none of whom backed Rishi Sunak to be prime minister.
Gullis told Talk TV: “Boris Johnson was very pleased to back a bill that enacted what he and Priti had been working on side by side.
“There was no mention of the prime minister. In fact, Boris has only ever given his full support, in any conversation I’ve ever had, for Rishi Sunak.”
He added: “Having Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nadine Dorries - all these other co-signatories - are very sound members of parliament who I’m very proud to work alongside.”
The intervention by the Tory big-hitters came as Rishi Sunak unveiled his own plans to crack down on illegal immigration.
The PM said he would introduce a law in the new year to prevent asylum seekers coming to the UK in small boats across the English Channel.
He also pledged to clear the backlog of outstanding asylum claims, and house immigrants in former holiday parks rather than hotels.
The latest Home Office figures show there were more than 143,000 asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their claims, in the year to September while nearly 100,000 had been waiting more than six months.
More than 44,000 people have crossed the Channel to the UK this year, Government figures show.
In a Commons statement, Sunak said: “I said enough is enough and I mean it. And that means I am prepared to do what must be done.”