Tory revolt over Channel migrants as ex-chancellor BACKS Gary Lineker

Tory revolt over Channel migrants as ex-chancellor George Osborne BACKS Gary Lineker over ‘unacceptable’ language about immigration and ex-minister Caroline Nokes says she will NOT vote for tough new law TONIGHT

• Bill would see migrants who arrive through unauthorised means deported 
• They would then receive a lifetime ban from returning to the UK by any means

Rishi Sunak was facing a revolt from senior moderate Tories over his hardline immigration policy towards Channel migrants ahead of a key Commons vote tonight.

Former Tory chancellor George Osborne and ex-immigration minister Caroline Nokes both criticised the policy and the rhetoric around the Illegal Immigration Bill, which was unveiled last week.

Ms Nokes said she would defy the party whip and refuse to back the bill tonight, warning it  ‘criminalises’ pregnant women and children and fails to act as a deterrent.

Former home Secretary Priti Patel is also reported to have concerns that the bill will result in unaccompanied children and families with small children being detained and then deported.

Meanwhile Mr Osborne lashed out at the government’s rhetoric around immigration as he came out in support of BBC presenter Gary Lineker.

‘Personally I think some of the language used on immigration by some Conservatives – not all – is not acceptable,’ he told Channel 4’s The Andrew Neil Show.

Former Tory immigration minister Caroline Nokes said she would defy the party whip and refuse to back Illegal Immigration Bill, warning it would ‘criminalises’ pregnant women and children and fails to act as a deterrent.

Meanwhile the ex-chancellor George Osborne lashed out at the government’s rhetoric around immigration as he came out in support of Gary Lineker.

The Government’s plans, announced on Tuesday, would see migrants who arrive through unauthorised means deported and given a lifetime ban from returning.

Gary Lineker, pictured here outside his south west London home, could be back on TV as early as this week

‘I have a lot of sympathy for Tim Davie, the director-general, who’s trying to maintain impartiality for the BBC in a partisan age. But it’s all ended up in a bit of a mess.’

The Government’s plans, announced on Tuesday, would see migrants who arrive through unauthorised means deported and given a lifetime ban from returning.

Anyone who crosses the Channel in a small boat would only be eligible for asylum in a ‘safe’ third country, such as Rwanda.

Powers would be granted to detain migrants for 28 days without recourse for bail or judicial review, and then indefinitely for as long as there is a ‘reasonable prospect’ of removal.

It also places a duty on the Home Secretary to remove illegal entrants and it will ‘radically narrow the number of challenges and appeals that can suspend removal’.

‘Protect free speech… not thin skin’: Police told to stop recording trivial online arguments as ‘non-crime hate incidents’ 

 

Ms Nokes, now chairman of the women and equalities committee, pledged to rebel against the measure when it gets its second reading tonight.  

She also voted against last year’s Nationality and Borders Act. 

Her dramatic intervention came just hours after a Tory council leader said the Government’s migrant plan puts children’s safety at risk as a row threatens to break out within the Conservative Party.

Ms Nokes told Times Radio: ‘I can’t vote for this. I didn’t vote for the last one, I won’t be voting for this one.

‘I might be an outlier in my party but I think we have an absolute duty to treat people humanely to keep people safe. I have absolute horror at the prospect.

‘My concern in the first instance about this Bill is that it’s removing protections for pregnant women, for families.

‘I am deeply troubled at the prospect of a policy which seeks to criminalise children, pregnant women, families and remove them to Rwanda.

‘I fail to see what this legislation is going to do to act as a deterrent.’

Earlier Izzi Seccombe, Tory leader of Warwickshire County Council, said local authorities have to ‘jump through hoops’ to set up safe shelters for children.

She criticised the Home Office for failing to communicate properly with councils over the migrant plan. ‘We are putting people in risky situations,’ Mrs Seccombe told Times Radio.

‘That cannot be good for us as a society. I wish we had better communications with the Home Office because it’s very poor. We are the ones on the ground who have to deal with these issues.’

Her comments came hours after the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, called the Bill ‘immoral and inept’.

He said: ‘The proposals are unworkable but will restrict access to support for many legitimate refugees and victims of modern slavery, without even the dignity of having their case heard.’

A ban on holding children who arrive in small boats in detention centres may be reversed. Senior Tories, including ex-Cabinet minister Robert Buckland, have condemned the plans as ‘draconian’.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Sunday did not rule out the prospect of children being detained under the Government’s latest asylum plans.

He said ‘special arrangements’ would be made for children, but would not be drawn on whether the Government will effectively overturn a ban – put in place by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government – on minors being detained in relation to immigration cases.

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