MP says ministers want to blame migrants on ‘Labour, judges or …
Suella Braverman faces a battle with rebels over her refusal to create new safe routes for refugees to come to this country. A fiery debate in the Commons today saw Rishi Sunak's own MPs criticising his and the Home Secretary's bill to tackle the small boats crisis - as well as harsh words from Labour's frontbenches. MPs are seeking to amend the government's controversial Illegal Immigration Bill to force ministers to create an alternative to making dangerous Channel crossings.
Tory MP Tim Loughton, who is leading a rebellion, wants the Government to launch new and safe legal routes. It could mean up to 20,000 migrants could be offered[1] a way to seek asylum in the UK Mr Loughton yesterday branded the bill "very controversial", adding that it would be "much more palatable and much more workable" if it introduced new safe and legal routes.
Rishi Sunak heckled in street as woman yells 'refugees should be allowed'[2]
Tory MP Tim Loughton put forward an amendment for the Bill to include new and safe legal routes
Setting out his amendment in the Commons, he said: "We have Afghanistan.
We have Syria. We have Ukraine[3]. And we have Hong Kong.
But we need additional ones. "The government could just say, well, we've got those safe routes, we can just tinker with those. "But to take the example of the 16-year-old orphan boy from East Africa, who is not from Ukraine, who is not from Afghanistan, he's not from Syria, and he's not from Hong Kong, who has a single relative legally settled in the United Kingdom.
"There are precious few opportunities for him to be able to come up in a safe and legal route." Shadow Minister for Immigration Stephen Kinnock slammed the Government for having "utterly failed" to offer safe and legal routes. He said "it was a simple fact of life" that this was the reason "many people fleeing war and persecution in the world" are coming to the UK by "unauthorised routes".
Suella Braverman's Illegal Immigration Bill explained as UN calls for it to be blocked[4]
Shadow Minister for Immigration Stephen Kinnock slammed the Government for having 'utterly failed' to offer safe and legal routes (Richard Townshend Photography)
The Labour[5] MP told the Commons ministers are "more than happy" to see the bill to actually tackle the small boats crisis "because then they can blame our civil servants, or the EU, or the lawyers or the judges or the Labour Party[6] or the football pundits, or wherever they can think of".
He said the Tories were using this tactic "because they know that come the general election[7], they can't stand on their record of 13 years of failure, so instead, they'll whip up division, stoke anxiety and fire[8] up the culture wars". "Our constituents know where the buck stops though. They want solutions, not soundbites.
They want the Labour Party's common sense and hard graft and quiet diplomacy, not government by gimmick," he added. Home Office minister Chris Philp played down suggestions Ms Braverman could accept amendments to establish more safe and legal routes for asylum seekers to enter the UK.
8 times Suella Braverman can't explain how 'cruel' Channel migrants plan will work[9]
"This country has a lot of safe and legal routes established already," he told LBC. "In terms of creating more, my own view is that we should fix the illegal immigration problem first, stop the boats, as the Prime Minister has committed, and then we can add in these additional and safe and legal routes."
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic today wrote to MPs and peers to say "it is essential that parliamentarians prevent legislation that is incompatible with the United Kingdom's international obligations being passed". In the letter, she added: "Passing the Bill would add to the already significant regression in the protection of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in the UK in the last few years."
It comes as Mr Sunak and Ms Braverman were heckled today[10] as they walked through a high street to tout the Government's new policies to tackle anti-social behaviour. They appeared alongside police officers in Essex before the PM set out his "zero tolerance" approach on the issue.
But one woman was heard telling the pair "allow migrants into this country" and "refugees should be allowed in Britain". Shen then shouted to the PM and Home Secretary: "Go away. We don't want you here".
A poll this morning showed the majority of the public believe ministers should open safe routes for refugees to travel to Britain to claim asylum, it has been revealed.
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