MPs debating Illegal Migration Bill clash as Tory criticises ‘swarm’ of arrivals
A Tory MP has warned of a “wave” and “swarm” of migrants coming to the UK as the Commons debated the government’s controversial legislation to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel.
MPs have been discussing the Illegal Migration Bill tonight as it goes through its latest parliamentary stage before it can become law, as around 100 protesters gathered outside to voice their opposition to the plans.
While some Tories have hit out against “lefty lawyers” for making action on those arriving difficult, other opposition MPs have insisted the UK is “not swamped by refugees” and merely has an “incompetent government”.
The bill’s controversial proposals, which home secretary Suella Braverman has admitted may not adhere to international human rights laws, aim to stop people from making the perilous journey to the UK by boat after more than 45,000 people took the route from France last year.
But with clauses allowing the detention and swift removal of asylum seekers, it has received condemnation from refugee charities and opposition parties, who said the plans were “costly”, “unworkable”, and “promise nothing but more demonisation and punishment of asylum seekers”.
The government was forced to promise some changes to the bill late in the day after some of its own backbenchers threatened to rebel over the role of the courts and the introduction of new safe and legal routes.
But other amendments by opposition parties failed to get enough support to influence the legislation.
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Arrivals ‘make a nonsense’ of immigration system
Speaking during the debate, Tory MP Sir John Hayes echoed words Ms Braverman had used about migrants and asylum seekers, which caused a backlash against the minister earlier this year.
He said the bill offered the chance to “deal once and for all with the matter of the boats arriving in Dover”.
The MP for South Holland and The Deepings in Lincolnshire added: “And I do use the words ‘tide’, ‘wave’… I think the home secretary described it as a ‘swarm’… of people coming here who know they are arriving illegally, who know they are breaking the law.
“For they know they have no papers or right to be here and therefore make a nonsense of an immigration system which must have integrity if it is to garner and maintain popular support.”
Sir John Hayes is part of a group of Tory MPs pushing for tougher measures in the bill
Continuing his speech, the veteran backbencher added: “It isn’t too much to make that simple statement, is it? It isn’t too much to expect a government maintains lawful control of our borders?
“And yet I hear constantly… that somehow that is militant, unreasonable, extreme. It is anything but those things.
“It is modest, it is moderate, it is just, it is virtuous to have a system which means that people who come here come here lawfully and the people who come here seeking asylum are dealt with properly.”
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Rebels on two fronts for the government
Sir John was among a number of Tory backbenchers who had been threatening to rebel against the bill if it did not include tougher measures to block the courts, especially the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), from intervening on deportation decisions.
Sir Bill Cash warned of “judicial activism” over the policy, while Jack Brereton spoke of “activist lefty lawyers” blocking the removal of migrants.
Danny Kruger echoed those arguments and called for “no more pyjama injunctions in the middle of the night” from the ECHR.
But fellow Tory Laura Farris said her colleagues “should be very wary of quick fixes”, adding: “We said throughout the Brexit debate we would be taking back control of our borders, but it is more complex than that.”
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What is new small boats bill?
The rebel group calling for tougher measures on court intervention had promised not to push an amendment containing its plans to a vote after conversations with ministers over the weekend, who apparently promised to act on their concerns.
And immigration minister Robert Jenrick ensured the amendment’s withdrawal after his speech wrapping up the debate, promising to “engage closely with colleagues” ahead of the next stage of the bill.
He added: “We are united in our determination this bill would be a robust bill, that it will be able to survive the kind of egregious and vexatious challenges that we have seen in the past, and that it will enable us to do the job and remove illegal immigrants to safe third countries like Rwanda.”
However, the government was facing dissent from its own ranks on two fronts.
Other Conservatives from the more liberal wings of the party were calling for the government to create and improve safe and legal routes for those seeking asylum in the UK – a move which would likely have gained the support of opposition parties who plan to vote down the bill.
Tory MP Tim Loughton said he would push his own amendment to a vote unless he got “some substantial reassurances from the government” that new routes will be introduced as part of the bill.
Tim Loughton brought forward an amendment
Earlier, Mr Loughton told the Commons: “We need to be ruthless against the people smugglers who benefit from this miserable trade.
“[And] we want to continue to offer safe haven for those genuinely escaping danger and persecution and in a sustainable way.
“And that is why safe and legal routes is the obvious antidote to this problem.”
The Tory MP added: “I think this bill is a genuine attempt to get to grips with [the small boats issue].
“It would be much more palatable and much more workable if it contained a balance that has safe and legal routes written into the bill that comes in at the same stage.”
But again, Mr Jenrick announced changes to the plan to win over Mr Loughton and his supporters – promising to bring in new safe and legal routes next year.
The minister added: “As the prime minister has said, it is precisely because we want to help genuine refugees that we need to take full control of our borders.
“Safe and legal routes like those that we have brought forward in recent years, the safe and legal routes that have enabled almost half a million people to come into our country for humanitarian purposes since 2015, are exactly how we will achieve that.”
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‘Moral outrage’
The debate also saw critics of the bill voice their concerns.
Labour’s shadow immigration minister, Stephen Kinnock, said: “We on these benches are absolutely clear that we must bring the dangerous Channel crossings to an end and that we must destroy the criminal activity of the people smugglers.
“[But this bill only offers] headline chasing gimmicks which are the stock and trade of the benches opposite.”
He said even with the measures proposed, “the boats will keep on coming, the backlog will keep on growing and the hotels will keep on filling”, and said the plan was “not really worth the paper it is written on” and was “a dog’s breakfast”.
Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron also called the bill “dozy” and “dangerous”.
“We are not swamped by refugees,” he added. “We have a system, an asylum system, run by an incompetent government.
“What is maybe the most morally outrageous thing about this whole debate is that these people, whether they are genuine asylum seekers or not… they are being blamed for the government’s incompetence. What a moral outrage.”
MPs will return to the Commons tomorrow afternoon to debate the bill further.
The mistaken release of an asylum seeker who was jailed for sexual offences has prompted widespread condemnation – and an extensive police operation.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, had assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, about a week after he had crossed the Channel and arrived in the UK by boat.
Last night, the teenager’s father was visibly upset as he turned up at HMP Chelmsford – asking for answers on how Kebatu was freed just one month into a 12-month sentence.
He did not want to speak on camera – but told Sky correspondent Mollie Malone that he was “frustrated” at the thought of the Ethiopian national being back on the streets.
“The justice system has let us down,” he said.
Footage has emerged that appears to show Kebatu in Chelmsford town centre following his release – dressed in prison clothes and clutching his belongings in a see-through bag.
He then headed to the railway station and boarded a train bound for London’s Liverpool Street, which departed at 12.41pm yesterday.
Follow latest developments on manhunt
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Accidental release ‘damaging’ for government
‘You couldn’t make it up’
Kebatu’s case had a high profile and led to weeks of protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, where he was staying alongside other asylum seekers.
When he was sentenced last month, Judge Christopher Williams warned he posed a “significant risk of reoffending”.
The Liberal Democrat MP for Chelmsford, Marie Goldman, told Sky presenter Barbara Serra she was “appalled, frustrated and angry about how this could possibly happen in the first place”.
She said it is clear something went “fundamentally wrong” at HMP Chelmsford – and her constituents are “fed up” with systems not working and underinvestment.
“It just destroys trust at a time when emotions are riding high. We’ve seen protests over the past few weeks and months, and there’s a lot of fear out there,” Ms Goldman added.
“It is so easy to lose trust and really hard to gain it – we need the government to get a grip on this.”
Protests were held at The Bell Hotel for several weeks
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described Kebatu as a “dangerous illegal immigrant” – and said his premature release shows “staggering incompetence”.
He told Sky News: “We also need an urgent apology from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Justice Secretary David Lammy who have presided over this fiasco.”
Mr Lammy, who also serves as deputy prime minister, has said he is “appalled” and “livid on behalf of the public that Kebatu is at large”.
He confirmed a full investigation is being launched, adding: “He should be deported back to Ethiopia after the sexual assaults that he’s committed.”
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Manhunt continues for Kebatu
Extensive policing operation under way
Multiple forces are now involved in the manhunt for Kebatu – including Essex Police, the British Transport Police and the Metropolitan Police in London.
Policing commentator Graham Wettone told Sky presenter Gillian Joseph that detectives will be carefully piecing together his movements after walking free from HMP Chelmsford.
“All these forces will now be looking at the CCTV from the train itself – trying to locate him on the train and trying to identify at which stop he went off at, and where he went from that station,” he explained.
Mr Wettone said information from Essex Police’s initial investigation – including the contacts, friends and associates he had at the Bell Hotel – will also be a factor.
Questions will also be asked of the prison authorities: “Has he had any visits or phone calls? Has he got any friends or family in the country?”
He added that additional officers will have been allocated to the manhunt: “The Met will have some significant resources looking for him – maybe the Territorial Support Group or additional borough-based officers in and around Liverpool Street first of all.”
The British Transport Police could also be involved in further inquiries if Kebatu ended up travelling on the Underground.
“It really depends on where that thread goes – if they can locate where he got off, and then where he went to,” Mr Wettone said.
“This work is very, very fast-paced – there are detectives and intelligence officers working in the background, chasing up on leads and updating the teams on the ground.”
Experts are warning that without “fast changes” the UK could run out of drinking water in the future.
The first seven months of 2025 were the driest since 1976, with reservoirs across England only 56.1% full on average, according to the Environment Agency.
“I think that we do need to worry about the fact that there is this possibility we could run out,” Hannah Cloke, professor of hydrology from Reading University, told Sky News.
“It’s only if we start thinking like that, that we’re going to start conserving our water, otherwise we just take it completely for granted.
“It is all of our fault, we have not been paying attention to what’s going on… we need some very fast changes to the way that we are using water and the way that we’re storing water in order to stop this being a problem in the future, because our summers are only going to get hotter.”
By 2050, the government says that England could face a shortfall of five billion litres of water every day.
‘Growing pressure’ on water system
A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: “This government recognises the growing pressure on our water system and is taking decisive action.
“We’re delivering over £104bn of private investment to fix leaking pipes, build nine new reservoirs and secure our water supply for the future.”
Latest figures suggest that around 2,690 megalitres of water is lost every day in England through leaks – the equivalent of 1,076 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
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‘We have invested an extra £10m’
“Leaks are a really important issue for us. We have invested an extra £10m just to deal with the weather that we’ve seen this summer,” said Dr Geoff Darch, head of strategic asset planning for Anglian Water.
Anglian Water is also hoping to build two new reservoirs in the East of England.
“We don’t want to stop people using water, it is absolutely essential for everything that we need it to do,” Dr Darch said.
“But I think we’ve got to a point now where we have to realise that water is a precious resource, it’s something that we all have to look after so that we have it for future generations and for the environment and with climate change and drought, we will need more reservoirs.”
The government claims it is fast-tracking new reservoirs to address the problem
Concerns about ‘whole system starting to collapse’
In August, the UK received just 62% of its average rainfall, according to the Met Office, which is leading a group of residents to monitor their water stocks closely.
“We collect all our own water from the rain, and so if we don’t have the rain that’s a significant issue,” explained Simon Tilly, director of the Hockerton eco housing project in Nottinghamshire.
He told Sky News they were working together to use less water.
“I suppose I’m most concerned about the whole system starting to collapse. There’s potential for longer droughts and us having a lot of water stress, there’s potential for a lot of floods when the drought finishes… and just generally that system going into random patterns where we’re getting more droughts and more floods,” he added.
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