Rishi Sunak's leadership is in turmoil after 60 of his MPs defied the whip to back rebel amendments to his flagship Rwanda policy.

Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith both resigned as deputy chairs of the Conservatives to vote for the measures which would have disapplied international law and severely restricted the rights of those set to be removed to the East African country. 

The Lib Dems said the Prime Minister had "yet again been embarrassed by his own MPs.”

The Bill will be back in the Commons on Wednesday night for its third and final reading.

If a similar number rebels again it will be defeated, further weakening Mr Sunak's position.  

Tory rebel Mark Francois did not rule out voting against the Government again, telling the PA: “Let’s see what happens."

Asked if the rebels have the numbers to defeat the Government, he said: “All I will say at this stage is I think the numbers tonight speak for themselves.”

The first rebellion came with Sir William Cash's bid to disapply international human rights laws, stopping those at risk of being removed to Rwanda from launching legal challenges. 

As well Mr Anderson and Mr Clarke-Smith, the change was supported by former prime minister Liz Truss and ex-leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith. Jane Stevenson, who is Kemi Badenoch's PPS, also voted for the amendment and promptly resigned.

A second change to the legislation, tabled by Robert Jenrick who quit as immigration last year, would have limited the ability of migrants to appeal their deportation to all but the most exceptional of circumstances.

It was backed by a similar number of Tories. 

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Jenrick said the UK Government needed to be tougher.  

“The only countries in the world that have fixed this problem, latterly Australia and Greece, have been willing to take the most robust action, are we?" he asked.  

"Well, I am.

“I want to stop the boats and secure our borders. This is a difficult issue, but we’re not a parish council, struggling with some kind of intractable legal issue, we’re a sovereign Parliament, the power is in our hands, we have agency.

“The law is our servant, not our master."

In their resignation letter, Mr Anderson and Mr Clarke-Smith piled on the pressure. They said the Prime Minister had “pledged to do whatever it takes to stop the boats.” 

“We have already had two pieces of legislation thwarted by a system that does not work in favour of the British people. 

“It is for this reason that we have supported the amendments to the Rwanda Bill. 

“This is not because we are against the legislation, but because like everybody else we want it to work. 

“This task is not an easy one and we appreciate the fine balance that must be struck.”

They said they had consistently argued for the legislation to be watertight, adding: “It is therefore important in terms of credibility that we are consistent with this.”

The two men said their support for the party “remains as strong as ever and that is why we are so passionate about making this legislation work.”

A Downing Street source told the Press Association that the PM had accepted the men's resignation.

“This is the toughest legislation ever brought before Parliament to tackle illegal migration.

“This Bill will make it clear that if you come here illegally you will not be able to stay. We must pass this Bill to deliver what all Conservatives want – a credible plan to stop the boats.”

Earlier in the day, Boris Johnson, who introduced the Rwanda policy in April 2020, gave his backing to the bid to rewrite the legislation.

Mr Sunak’s difficulty is that if he accepts any concession, he will lose support from his moderate backbenchers. 

The original policy was to give those who the UK believed had arrived illegally a one-way ticket to Rwanda.

The government hoped the plan would deter people from crossing the Channel in small boats.

However, it was struck down by the Supreme Court, which said it was unlawful as there were substantial grounds for believing that asylum seekers sent to Rwanda would face a real risk of ill-treatment as a result of being returned to their country of origin.

That prompted Mr Sunak to introduce the Safety of Rwanda (asylum and immigration) Bill which declared Rwanda to be safe.

An SNP amendment which sought to declare Rwanda an unsafe country was voted down by 337 to 66.

Lib Dem Alistair Carmichael, the party's Home Affairs spokesman, said Mr Sunak had “yet again been embarrassed by his own MPs.”

“Sunak’s Rwanda scheme just won’t work — and even the deputy chairmen of his own party know it," he added.

“If the Prime Minister can’t even settle squabbles in his own party, how can he be expected to run the country?”