Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton has this weekend been deployed by Downing Street as part of a major government lobbying operation to stave off defeat over the Rwanda plan.
The foreign secretary is one of several ministers working to peel off Tory rebels threatening to withhold their support for the emergency legislation when the first key vote is held on Tuesday.
Senior No 10 officials have also been engaging with moderates who are concerned the bill may not comply with the UK’s international law obligations.
Cameron spoke to Sir Bill Cash, the veteran Eurosceptic MP and member of the so-called “star chamber” of legal experts scrutinising the legislation on behalf of about three dozen MPs, for 45 minutes on Friday afternoon. Cash’s group is expected