Annual cap on migrants entering through safe routes unveiled and small boat migrants to be ‘removed swiftly’ under new bill

Published

2 years ago

March 7, 2023

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The home secretary has announced a new Illegal Migration Bill that will mean migrants arriving on small boats will be “removed swiftly”.

Suella Braverman told the Commons: “They will not stop coming here until the world knows that if you enter Britain illegally you will be detained and swiftly removed back to your country, if it is safe, or a safe third country such as Rwanda.

“And that is precisely what this bill will do. That is how we will stop the boats.”

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The home secretary said the bill will mean last-minute judicial reviews “conducted late at night with no chance to make our case or even appeal decisions” are no longer allowed.

She added that she “can’t say definitively” if the new bill complies with human rights laws.

“Of course, the UK will always seek to uphold international law and I am confident that this bill is compatible with international obligations,” she said.

Under the proposed plan:

• People arriving on small boats will be detained within the first 28 days without bail or judicial review and can be detained after that if there is a reasonable prospect of removal

• The onus to remove those who enter illegally will be on the home secretary – to “radically” narrow the number of challenges and appeals

• Only those under 18, those medically unfit to fly or at “real risk” of serious harm in the country they are removed to will be able to lodge an appeal to stop them from being deported

• Any other claims, including the right to private or family life, will be heard remotely after they have been removed

• People will be prevented from using modern slavery laws to oppose their removal

• Deportation can only be deferred when a person is cooperating with law enforcement agencies in trafficking investigations

• An annual cap on the number of people entering via safe routes – to be set by parliament – will “ensure an orderly system”

• A lifetime ban on settlement, citizenship and re-entry to the UK for those removed under the scheme.

Ms Braverman said the government is adding to its detention capacity, including on military bases.

She added that new safe routes have yet to be decided but said the bill will allow there to be a “more comprehensive discussion” on them to allow “more legitimacy” on what they should be.

The home secretary said the bill was “not about scapegoating, this is about safeguarding”.

She added: “It is essential that the UK takes a robust approach, but compassionate approach. This is, at core, a humanitarian package of measures which sends the message to people: do not come here illegally.”

Labour: ‘Bill is a con’

However, opposition MPs hit out at the plan, with Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper calling the bill a “con” as she described the plans as “Groundhog Day”.

The veteran Labour MP mentioned a smuggler interviewed by Sky News the day before, saying the “disgraceful Tory attitude…is letting criminals off the hook and has let the gangs take hold”.

She added: “One smuggler told Sky News yesterday that three-quarters of the smugglers live in Britain, yet barely any of them are being prosecuted and they still haven’t found the hundreds of children missing from asylum hotels who have been picked up by criminal gangs.

“They could be setting out a serious plan today – and we would work with them, and so would everyone across the country.

“Instead, it’s just more chaos.”

Diane Abbott, who was Labour’s shadow home secretary under Jeremy Corbyn, accused Ms Braverman of using “inflammatory” language as she called the bill “deplorable and unworkable”.

In Ms Braverman’s original statement, she said: “For a government not to respond to waves of illegal migrants breaching our borders would be to betray the will of the people we were elected to serve.

“They will not stop coming here until the world knows that if you enter Britain illegally you will be detained and swiftly removed.”

‘Only 50% chance compatible with Human Rights Act’

Moments after the home secretary’s statement Conservative MPs and peers were sent a letter, seen by Sky News, by Ms Braverman, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick and Home Office minister Lord Murray of Blidworth, urging them for their support for the bill.

It outlined the main details of the bill and insisted it “does not mean the provisions in the bill are incompatible” with the Human Rights Act.

“Only that there is a more 50% chance that they may not be,” the letter said.

“We are testing the limits but remain confident that this Bill is compatible with international law.”

Ahead of the announcement, the home secretary said the plan “pushes the boundaries of international law” but insisted it is needed because the asylum system is being “overwhelmed”.

Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland told Sky News on Tuesday morning he had been assured the bill would not actually break international law.

The prime minister had said the new bill, which is key to one of his five priorities, will “take back control of our borders, once and for all”.

Opposition parties and refugee charities had already started criticising the bill before it was announced, with some saying the plans were “costly and unworkable” and they “promise nothing but more demonisation and punishment of asylum seekers”.

Critics said the UK had “comprehensively shut down” legal routes for refugees to come to the UK.

Labour raised doubts about the legality and feasibility of the bill and the Liberal Democrats said ministers had drawn up “another half-baked plan”.

World

Donald Trump sending ‘top of the line’ weapons to support NATO in Ukraine war

Published

6 hours ago

July 15, 2025

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Donald Trump sending 'top of the line' weapons to support NATO in Ukraine war

Donald Trump has agreed to send “top of the line weapons” to NATO to support Ukraine – and threatened Russia with “severe” tariffs if it doesn’t agree to end the war.

Speaking with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte during a meeting at the White House, the US president said: “We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them.

“This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment which is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.”

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It comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a “very good conversation” with Mr Trump late on Monday. He thanked him for the “willingness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings”.

Weapons being sent from to Ukraine include surface-to-air Patriot missile systems and batteries, which the country has asked for to defend itself from Russian air strikes.

Mr Trump also said he was “very unhappy” with Russia, and threatened “severe tariffs” of “about 100%” if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.

The White House added that the US would put “secondary sanctions” on countries that buy oil from Russia if an agreement was not reached.

Mr Zelenskyy previously criticised Vladimir Putin’s “desire to drag [the war] out”, and said Kyiv was “working on major defence agreements with America”.

It comes after weeks of frustration from Mr Trump over Mr Putin’s refusal to agree to an end to the conflict, with the Russian leader telling the US president he would “not back down” from Moscow’s goals in Ukraine at the start of the month.

During the briefing on Monday, Mr Trump said he had held calls with Mr Putin where he would think “that was a nice phone call”, but then “missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and that happens three or four times”.

“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy,” he added.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump told Mr Zelenskyy “you’re gambling with World War Three” in a fiery White House meeting, and suggested Ukraine started the war against Russia as he sought to negotiate an end to the conflict.

After Mr Trump’s briefing, Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said on Telegram: “If this is all that Trump had in mind to say about Ukraine today, then all the steam has gone out.”

Meanwhile, Mr Zelenskyy met with US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv, where they “discussed the path to peace” by “strengthening Ukraine’s air defence, joint production, and procurement of defence weapons in collaboration with Europe”.

He thanked both the envoy for the visit and Mr Trump “for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries”.

World

Trump announces weapons deal with NATO to help Ukraine – as he gives Putin 50-day ultimatum

Published

20 hours ago

July 14, 2025

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Trump announces weapons deal with NATO to help Ukraine - as he gives Putin 50-day ultimatum

Donald Trump has agreed to send “top of the line weapons” to NATO to support Ukraine – and threatened Russia with “severe” tariffs if it doesn’t agree to end the war.

Speaking with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte during a meeting at the White House, the US president said: “We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them.

“This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment which is going to be purchased from the United States,” he added, “going to NATO, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.”

Follow the latest here

Weapons being sent include surface-to-air Patriot missile systems and batteries, which Ukraine has asked for to defend itself from Russian air strikes.

Mr Trump also said he was “very unhappy” with Russia, and threatened “severe tariffs” of “about 100%” if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.

The White House added that the US would put “secondary sanctions” on countries that buy oil from Russia if an agreement was not reached.

It comes after weeks of frustration from Mr Trump against Vladimir Putin’s refusal to agree to an end to the conflict, with the Russian leader telling the US president he would “not back down” from Moscow’s goals in Ukraine at the start of the month.

During the briefing on Monday, Mr Trump said he had held calls with Mr Putin where he would think “that was a nice phone call,” but then “missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and that happens three or four times”.

“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy,” he added.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump told Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy “you’re gambling with World War Three” in a fiery White House meeting, and suggested Ukraine started the war against Russia as he sought to negotiate an end to the conflict.

After Mr Trump’s briefing, Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said on Telegram: “If this is all that Trump had in mind to say about Ukraine today, then all the steam has gone out.”

He thanked both the envoy for the visit and Mr Trump “for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries”.

World

At least 30 dead and 100 injured as armed groups clash in Syria, officials say

Published

1 day ago

July 14, 2025

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At least 30 dead and 100 injured as armed groups clash in Syria, officials say

At least 30 people have been killed in the Syrian city of Sweida in clashes between local military groups and tribes, according to Syria’s interior ministry.

Officials say initial figures suggest around 100 people have also been injured in the city, where the Druze faith is one of the major religious groups.

The interior ministry said its forces will directly intervene to resolve the conflict, which the Reuters news agency said involved fighting between Druze gunmen and Bedouin Sunni tribes.

It marks the latest episode of sectarian violence in Syria, where fears among minority groups have increased since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar al Assad in December, installing their own government and security forces.

The violence reportedly erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida.

Last April, Sunni militia clashed with armed Druze residents of Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, and fighting later spread to another district near the capital.

But this is the first time the fighting has been reported inside the city of Sweida itself, the provincial capital of the mostly Druze province.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports the fighting was centred in the Maqwas neighbourhood east of Sweida and villages on the western and northern outskirts of the city.

It adds that Syria’s Ministry of Defence has deployed military convoys to the area.

Western nations, including the US and UK, have been increasingly moving towards normalising relations with Syria.

Concerns among minority groups have intensified following the killing of hundreds of Alawites in March, in apparent retaliation for an earlier attack carried out by Assad loyalists.

That was the deadliest sectarian flare-up in years in Syria, where a 14-year civil war ended with Assad fleeing to Russia after his government was overthrown by rebel forces.

The city of Sweida is in southern Syria, about 24 miles (38km) north of the border with Jordan.