Illegal Migration Bill: Ministers overturn Lords changes

The authorities has again overturned changes to its Illegal Migration Bill made by the House of Lords, contempt immoderate Tory MPs rebelling.

The Commons voted to reverse detention limits for children suggested by peers, arsenic good arsenic protections for imaginable modern slavery victims.

Thirteen Conservatives opposed the determination connected modern slavery, less than had been predicted.

The measure present returns to the Lords, who could proceed to request changes.

In votes scheduled for precocious connected Monday evening, they volition beryllium capable to o.k. the amendments again, oregon suggest akin alternatives. Debate began astir 22.15 BST, and votes could proceed into the aboriginal hours of Tuesday.

But if they backmost down, it volition pave the mode for the authorities to go instrumentality earlier MPs statesman their summertime recess aboriginal this week.

The bill, backed by MPs successful March, is cardinal to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's high-profile pledge to "stop" tiny boats crossing the English Channel.

It would spot a ineligible work connected the authorities to detain and region those arriving successful the UK illegally, either to Rwanda oregon different "safe" 3rd country.

The Rwanda program was ruled unlawful by the Court of Appeal past month, but ministers are challenging the judgement.

MPs person been locked successful a conflict implicit the last signifier of the measure with the House of Lords, wherever it has been repeatedly amended by absorption peers.

They voted down 9 amendments made by the Lords past week, including 1 which would person placed a three-day bounds connected the clip unaccompanied kid migrants tin beryllium detained earlier they are deported.

They besides overturned a suggested four-day detention bounds suggested for accompanied children, and a prohibition connected LGBT migrants from being deported to Rwanda and 9 other, chiefly African countries.

MPs besides voted down an amendment that would person forced the authorities to make caller harmless and ineligible asylum routes wrong 9 months of the measure passing. Ministers person promised to bash this by the extremity of 2024.

Speaking earlier the votes, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said the Lords amendments would person created "exemptions, qualifications and loopholes" that would marque the authorities harder to implement.

He said the powerfulness to detain radical who are owed to beryllium deported was indispensable to halt radical absconding, and exempting families with children would permission a "gaping hole" successful the system.

Tim Loughton, 1 of 11 Tory MPs to rebel implicit kid detention limits, said authorities promises that detention would beryllium for the shortest play imaginable should beryllium written into the legislation.

Shadow migration curate Stephen Kinnock said the measure was "unworkable" and an workout successful "performative cruelty".

He added that Rwanda would lone beryllium capable to instrumentality a tiny fraction of the migrants arriving successful tiny boats, meaning the menace of being deported determination would not deter radical from making the journey.