Migration bill climbdown on detention limits for children

The UK authorities has changed its Illegal Migration Bill to bounds detention periods for children and large women.

MPs volition ballot connected Tuesday connected 20 changes backed by peers successful the House of Lords.

While Conservative MPs are expected to cull astir changes, ministers person made concessions to get the measure done Parliament.

The measure is cardinal to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to halt tiny boats crossing the English Channel.

The measure has been brought into sharper absorption by the latest figures connected crossings, which showed much than 1,000 migrants made the unsafe travel implicit 2 days past week.

Mr Sunak's spokesperson said the fig of crossings was "still excessively large" and could escalate further implicit the summer.

The Illegal Migration Bill is the government's effort to deter radical from making the crossing by toughening up the rules and conditions astir seeking asylum.

The measure primitively removed the existing clip limits connected however agelong unaccompanied children and large women could beryllium detained, but they were reinstated by peers successful the Lords.

Now an amendment has been tabled to let migration bail to beryllium granted aft 8 days to unaccompanied children successful detention.

The authorities has besides agreed to support the existent bounds connected detaining large women astatine 72 hours.

Another caller alteration means the work connected the location caput to region anyone entering the UK without support volition lone use erstwhile the authorities becomes law, not retrospectively.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the amendments would "help this important authorities walk done Parliament swiftly, whilst continuing to nonstop a wide connection that the exploitation of children and susceptible people, utilized by criminals and ferried crossed the Channel, cannot continue".

The government's efforts to curb the fig of tiny boats crossing the Channel person been hampered successful Parliament and the courts.

A program to location asylum seekers connected a barge moored successful Dorset has been delayed.

And the government's argumentation of sending migrants to Rwanda is acceptable for a ineligible conflict successful the Supreme Court.

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

The authorities has stressed it remains committed to its program to region migrants to Rwanda, and has said it volition situation a Court of Appeal ruling past week that this was unlawful.