Tories call for changes to modern slavery rules to send ‘bogus asylum seekers’ home
A group of more than 50 MPs has written to PM Rishi Sunak, urging him to introduce emergency legislation which will cut small boat crossings of the Channel.
The group, which includes former cabinet ministers, called for the rapid implementation of a “simple” change in the modern slavery laws to make it easier for people they believe are “bogus asylum seekers”, who say they are victims of trafficking, to be returned.
The demand comes as Mr Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman face pressure to prevent the crossings and improve the conditions which asylum seekers experience in the UK.
In a letter formulated by former Brexit secretary David Davis, the Tory backbenchers say the Channel crossings are a “Gordian Knot [seemingly unsolvable problem] that needs cutting with a simple policy”.
Signatories, including Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, demand “economic migrants” travelling from “safe countries” such as Albania are returned more quickly.
They argue that “people claiming they have been unwilling victims of human trafficking or modern slavery” should be returned “to their homes in the villages from which they came from”.
It also proposes the UK follows other countries in allowing summary rejection of asylum claims by applicants from safe countries.
The Tories wrote: “If they have really been taken against their will, then they could not reasonably object to being returned to their own homes.
“The quirks in our modern slavery laws that prevent this are clearly in defiance of the aims of that law and should be removed”.
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Albania: Poverty fuels migrant crisis
‘Intolerable stress’
They argue the “straightforward and legally workable way of addressing the crisis” would be a “very strong deterrent” for those planning to risk the perilous crossing.
And they say Britain’s systems, which were “designed to provide altruistic support to people who legitimately ask for our help”, have been put under “intolerable stress” by people who are abusing the process.
Former cabinet ministers Dr Liam Fox and Esther McVey, and longest-serving MP Sir Peter Bottomley, also signed the letter, which demonstrates nerves among the Conservatives that failing to tackle the issue will hurt them at the ballot box.
People board a bus outside the Manston migrant processing centre
Concerns have also been raised that some migrants who have been moved from the Manston processing centre in Kent to other parts of the country had been suffering from suspected diphtheria.
Sky News exclusively revealed one man under detention died of the disease.
According to The Sunday Times, there have been dozens of suspected cases among those who have left Manston in recent weeks.
The UK Health Security Agency is expected to release exact figures later on Monday.
Read more: What is diphtheria and how does it spread?
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Home Sec admits migration failure
Ms Braverman has come under fire over the dire conditions in Manston, as well as for failing to slow the perilous crossings of the English Channel by people in small boats.
This week, she admitted the government has “failed to control our borders” but blamed desperate migrants and people smugglers for the overcrowding in Manston.
“I tell you who’s at fault. It’s very clear who’s at fault. It’s the people who are breaking our rules, coming here illegally, exploiting vulnerable people and trying to reduce the generosity of the British people. That’s who’s at fault,” she told MPs.
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New plan on migrants ‘a small step forward’
‘No single solution’
A Home Office source said Ms Braverman is “working flat out alongside the prime minister to bring in reforms to help stem the flow of migrants across the Channel”.
A government spokeswoman added there was “no one single solution to stop the increase in dangerous crossings”.
She said they planned to use “every tool at our disposal to deter illegal migration” and added: “We are expediting the removal of individuals by agreeing tailored bilateral returns agreements with partners like Albania, elevating it to a key priority for our foreign policy.”
The Home Office said last week there were no longer any people at the Manston centre after it experienced severe overcrowding earlier this month.
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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