LIZ Truss vowed last night to enforce controversial Rwanda policies as the battlefield in the Tory leadership race centered on immigration.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and rival Rishi Sunak has sparked a policy blitz before party faithful for a week to vote tomorrow.
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The two candidates tried to take the focus away from their opposing tax plans — before participating in The Sun’s Showdown Debate shown on Talk TV this Tuesday at 6 p.m.
It came when a poll of general voters showed they believed ex-chancellor Mr Sunak would be a better Prime Minister than Mrs Truss.
About 43 percent believe Mr Sunak would be a good prime minister, according to Opinium, compared to 36 percent for frontrunner Ms Truss.
But in a Tory membership poll, Mr Sunak has only 38 percent support, while its rival has 62 percent.
Mrs Truss has promised to hold on to the Rwanda Policy — where migrants crossing the canal be sent to the East African country in small boats – and conclude similar agreements with other countries.
And Mrs Truss Last night, she said she would increase the number of officials at the border by a fifth to 10,800 if she gets the top job in September.
She said: “Rwanda’s policy is the right policy.
“I am committed to ensuring it is fully implemented and to explore other countries we can work with on similar partnerships.
“I am also committed to ensuring that we have the right level of armed forces at our border.”
She has also said she will be introducing an enhanced version Bill of Rights to tackle illegal immigration, a policy it sees as an “absolute priority”.
She said: “We need to ensure that the UK Bill of Rights fully complies with giving the UK government the powers – and the UK Parliament sovereignty – to fully implement the policy.”
She said countries have been identified where other deals could be made.
The deal with Rwanda has already cost taxpayers 120 million pounds in advance.
A judicial review of the policy’s legality begins on September 5, the day the winner of the Tory Contest is announced.
Mr Sunak has pledged to set an annual ceiling on the number of refugees accepted each year through safe and legal routes.