It’s Parliamentary ping-pong for peers and MPs on migrants as ministers brace for further attempts by the House of Lords to water down the government’s tough new immigration laws
- MPs have been stripping out amendments imposed by the House of Lords
- Upper Chamber expected to make renewed attempts to interfere with changes
Ministers are braced for further attempts by unelected peers to try to water down the Government’s tough new immigration laws.
MPs began the tortuous process last night of stripping out scores of amendments imposed by the House of Lords.
But the Upper Chamber is expected to make renewed attempts to interfere with the law changes.
Dozens of peers have voiced their opposition to the measures with many citing human rights grounds.
Ahead of the convoluted proceedings in Parliament, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stressed the key role the Illegal Migration Bill will play in stopping small boat migrants crossing the Channel.
And immigration minister Robert Jenrick urged MPs to ‘send a clear message’ to the Lords to ‘think again’ and ‘respect the will of the elected House’.
Downing Street acknowledged the concession could lead to a rise in the number of migrants seeking to cross the Channel but insisted they could still be dealt with using existing powers
He told the Commons: ‘It’s vital that this Bill reaches the statute book quickly and in a form that will stop the boats.
‘It is riddled with exceptions and get-out clauses as currently placed in by the Other Place [the House of Lords]. If that happens, it will simply not work.’
He told the Commons that, in particular, four amendments made by peers were ‘little short of wrecking amendments’. Three of the four were struck out in Commons divisions last night and the fourth was struck out unopposed.
Lords are today expected to consider MPs’ changes and can re-insert their original amendments before sending the Bill back to the elected chamber in ‘parliamentary ping-pong’.
During the Commons debate, former Tory PM Theresa May said she would vote against the Government unless it dropped its opposition to a Lords amendment allowing migrants to continue lodging modern slavery claims.
She said the Bill ‘ties the hands of the police and undoes the good work of the Modern Slavery Act’, which she introduced when she was home secretary. Despite her tantrum, the Commons later voted to throw out the Lords’ modern slavery amendment by 285 votes to 243.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick urged MPs to ‘send a clear message’ to the Lords to ‘think again’ and ‘respect the will of the elected House’
READ MORE: ‘Amnesty’ is handed to 10,000 small boats migrants who reached the UK in the past four months in a major concession by the government to get its Illegal Migration Bill through Parliament
Official figures show 9,622 migrants arrived on small boats between March 7 and Sunday
Former minister Tim Loughton, in a further rebellion on the Tory benches, said he could not support measures relating to the treatment of child migrants.
And ex-justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland called for a ‘sense of urgency’ drawing up additional safe and legal routes for migrants to the UK.
Up to 15 Tory MPs voted against the Government at various stages of last night’s votes. These also included former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former immigration ministers Damian Green and Caroline Nokes.
Mr Sunak had earlier said: ‘The situation is not fair, it’s not right, and we need to take strong action to stop the boats.’
The PM added he remained ‘very confident’ in the Rwanda asylum plan. He also repeated his insistence his plan to stop the boats is ‘starting to work’.
However, it came as small boats arrivals reached 13,110 since the start of the year – just 1.6 per cent below the total at the same point last year.
Mr Sunak said he was reassured by aspects of last month’s Court of Appeal ruling, which declared the Rwanda deal unlawful.
He said judges had ‘agreed with the Government’ on the principle of sending migrants to Rwanda to claim asylum there rather than here.
But Home Secretary Suella Braverman has made concessions to get the Bill through.
One key change – passed by the Commons last night – delays the start date of the measures, effectively handing an ‘amnesty’ from the new restrictions to 10,000 migrants who reached Britain in the past four months.
Downing Street acknowledged the concession could lead to a rise in the number of migrants seeking to cross the Channel but insisted they could still be dealt with using existing powers.
The Home Office said there were 338 arrivals on Monday.
The Commons agreed to accept remaining Lords amendments at the end of seven hours of debate and voting.
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