Rishi Sunak pours cold water on Summer election rumours as he suggests he wants Rwanda deportation flights to get into a 'rhythm' before going to the country

Rishi Sunak appeared to pour cold water on Summer election rumours today as he insisted he wants Rwanda deportation flights to get into a 'rhythm'.

The PM conceded at a Downing Street press conference this morning that his timetable for the first Channel migrants being sent to the African state by Spring has slipped.

Instead he said it could take another 10-12 weeks even if the House of Lords caves in and passes crucial legislation tonight.

The premier also stressed the policy should be judged based on 'a regular rhythm of multiple flights every month over the Summer and beyond'. Although he refused to be drawn on election dates, the words seem to suggest that Mr Sunak is looking more towards Autumn.

There has been fresh speculation about when Mr Sunak will go to the country as Tories brace for a battering in local elections next week.

Allies fear that rebels will use bad results as a platform for another effort to oust the leader, raising questions about whether he can hang on until the end of the year.

Deputy PM Oliver Dowden is reported to have urged Mr Sunak to consider calling the vote earlier rather than later.

Although polls show the Conservatives way behind Labour, there are concerns that a summer of infighting and potentially large numbers of small boat arrivals will do little to revive their fortunes. 

The PM told the press conference he is ready to make MPs and peers sit through the night to break the impasse on the Rwanda Bill.

He stressed the government is already poised to send the first flights carrying Channel migrants to the African state - saying an airfield is on standby and commercial charter planes have been booked.

'We will start the flights and we will stop the boats,' he said, suggesting there will be a 'regular rhythm' once the flights are up and running. 

The showdown comes after the House of Lords again refused to back down last week, passing more amendments to the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill despite MPs repeatedly dismissing their objections.

That teed up a fourth round of 'ping-pong' - where legislation is batted between the two Houses until agreement is reached - which will begin in the Commons this afternoon.

Mr Sunak said when it is running the Rwanda policy will be a 'game changer' for his plans to 'stop the boats.

'The first flight will leave in 10 to 12 weeks,' he said. 'Now of course, that is later than we wanted.

'But we have always been clear that processing will take time and if Labour Peers had not spent weeks holding up the Bill in the House of Lords to try to block flights altogether, we would have begun this process weeks ago.

'And the success of this deterrent doesn’t rest on one flight alone.

'It rests on the relentless, continual process of successfully and permanently removing people to Rwanda with a regular rhythm of multiple flights every month over the summer and beyond until the boats are stopped.'