Richard Tice and Tory MP Richard Graham entered into a furious row that included “personal attacks” as they spoke about the Rwanda bill.
It comes after Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith resigned as deputy chairs of the Conservative Party after defying Rishi Sunak by backing right wing challenges to harden up his flagship Rwanda deportation bill.
60 Tory rebel MPs, including the former home secretary Suella Braverman and the former prime minister Liz Truss, backed the series of amendments tabled by the veteran Tory Sir Bill Cash and Robert Jenrick.
Reform UK leader Richard Tice and Tory MP Richard Graham discussed the proposed amendments on GB News.
Richard Tice labeled the bill a “dead cat red herring”
GBNews
Tice explained: “The whole thing is a complete dead cat red herring. Because even if it does all go through, then the reality is, it’s not a deterrent. We know it’s not a deterrent because only a few hundred would go there.
“Already this year, in freezing cold weather, hundreds of illegal migrants have made that dangerous trip. Tragically, five people have already lost their lives, It proves in horrific tragedy, It’s not a deterrent. They should just give up this whole thing.”
Richard Graham, Tory MP for Gloucester said: “I’m supporting the government. And that’s what all Conservative MPs should be doing. We need to get this bill through so that we can get some people back to Rwanda, the deterrent in place, and move on.”
When asked by host Andrew Pierce why the Tories can’t do as Tice suggested and “order the boat to turn back around”, Graham responded: “No, he’s completely wrong, of course.
Tory MP Richard Graham claimed that TIce was wrong
PA
“The situation in Australia is completely different. It’s a very different sea. It’s not a major traffic point for huge international shipping.
“He’s no better, to be honest, than several of my constituents in a pub who think they can solve everything, including inflation, Gaza, the Red Sea, you name it, over a couple of pints. It’s not real politics at all.
“And by the way, the whole business about individual human rights is incredibly important for a whole number of things.
“We share intelligence with our allies based on identical approaches to individual human rights and how that intelligence is required. If we’re going to abandon international law for every individual the consequences are much bigger than many people understand.”
They entered into a heated debate
GBNews
Tice shot back: “The reality is, America’s not a member of the ECHR, nor is Canada, nor is Australia. They practice human rights. We invented human rights. We don’t need some overseas foreign political judges telling us what to do. I’ve read the treaties, Richard.
“I know the exact clauses, under which proper leadership, would pick these people up safely out of the boats, take them back to France, and this would stop the business model within a couple of weeks. Your lot just haven’t got the guts and the spine to do it.”
Graham then responded: “He loves a bit of rhetoric. He can rant with the best of them, put himself up as a candidate to oppose me in Gloucester and let’s see what happens.”
GB News’s Bev Turner waded in to comment: “Richard Graham, you heard Richard Tice talk about the law and you came back with a personal attack. Why is he wrong in terms of the clauses in that legislation?”
Graham explained: “We argue that it is our responsibility with allies to make sure that international law is absolutely maintained. You cannot at the one hand invoke international law when it suits you and totally disregard it when it doesn’t.”
