British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has won a House of Commons vote on legislation that would provide for illegal immigrants in the UK to be sent to Rwanda.
A knife-edge parliamentary vote after an afternoon of debate saw 313 MPs vote for the so-called Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, with 269 against.
The emergency bill, published only last week, is Mr Sunak's answer to a damning unanimous Supreme Court ruling in November that deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda was illegal under international law.
The Rwanda scheme is designed to deter migrants from making the journey of about 32km across the English Channel from Europe in small boats or inflatable dinghies.
Under the plan, anyone who arrives in Britain illegally faces being sent to Rwanda.
It is part of wider government action to cut record levels of regular and irregular immigration, which is likely to be a key issue at next year's election.
But the issue is by no means settled for Mr Sunak, who has staked his reputation - and political future - on the plan.
By seeking to declare Rwanda safe despite concerns from human rights monitors, and removing legal challenges to deportation orders, he has triggered deep factional Tory infighting not seen since Brexit.
Hardline right-wingers say the proposals are not tough enough, while more liberal Tories are concerned they could see the UK break international law if they are amended down the line.
Minutes before the vote, MP Mark Francois told reporters that the so-called "five families" of right-wing Tory factions had met and decided not to support the bill as it stood.
"We have decided collectively that we cannot support the bill tonight because of its many omissions... We will not be supporting it," said Mr Francois, chairman of the European Research Group of Tory MPs who advocated for a 'hard' Brexit.
"The prime minister has been telling colleagues today he is prepared to entertain tightening the bill.
"With that aim, at the committee stage we will aim to table amendments which would, we hope, if accepted, materially improve the bill and remove some of its weaknesses."
Mr Francois said the group would introduce amendments in January, signalling more political wrangling for Mr Sunak in the new year.
Legislation in need of 'major surgery'
Earlier, Mr Sunak pleaded with Tory MPs to back the plan, as Home Secretary James Cleverly said it pushed the envelope of international law.
Mr Sunak was involved in intensive efforts to persuade would-be rebels to back the legislation, holding crisis meetings with the various factions in the Conservative Party.
But as hardliners on the Tory right pushed for changes to toughen up the legislation by blocking interference from foreign courts, Mr Cleverly suggested the legislation was already close to the limits of what would be possible.
Speaking earlier in the Commons, Mr Cleverly said: "The actions that we are taking, whilst novel, whilst very much pushing at the edge of the envelope, are within the framework of international law."
He added: "The prime minister has been crystal clear that he, and the government that he leads, will not let foreign courts destroy this Rwanda plan and curtail our efforts to break the business model of those evil people-smuggling gangs."
It was actually the UK Supreme Court which scuppered the plan to send some asylum seekers who cross the English Channel to Rwanda rather than allowing them to attempt to stay in the UK.
The court ruled against the scheme, but the new legislation and a treaty with Rwanda are intended to make it legally watertight.
Labour leader Keir Starmer dismissed the Rwanda plan as a "gimmick" and piece of political "performance art".
