Thank you to all those who have contacted me about the Illegal Migration Bill.

The Home Secretary has said the asylum system is broken. I agree and I think the Government should take responsibility having overseen it for the last 12 years.

Less than a year ago, the Government passed a series of measures which it claimed would stop the boats, end hotel use, and penalise people for trying to claim asylum. It has not worked. Boat crossings have reached a record in that time, hotel use is up, and only 1% of last year’s asylum cases have been decided.

The Illegal Migration Bill attempts to prevent unlawful migration by requiring the removal of people who enter or arrive in the UK illegally. However, this Bill will only cause completely unnecessary pain and suffering for those that it targets. Many of these people are already particularly vulnerable and have been victim to exploitation by criminal gangs and human traffickers. They have also faced horrendous and inhumane conditions that no one, no matter where they are from, should be subject to.

I do not believe this Bill will stop the criminal gangs or dangerous crossings; in fact, I believe it makes it easier for those gangs to operate. I do not believe it will clear the asylum backlog; in fact, I believe it will mean tens of thousands of more people in asylum accommodation and hotels. I do not believe it will deliver controlled and managed safe alternatives; instead, I believe it will cut them back for those who need them most.

Moreover, the Bill makes it harder to get returns agreements because it undermines compliance with the international laws and standards that those other countries are committed to upholding.

Fundamentally, this Bill hurts the most vulnerable among us. It leaves victims of modern-day slavery without any protections while frustrating efforts to prosecute traffickers. I also recognise the deep concerns expressed by the Children’s Commissioner regarding how unaccompanied children will be treated under this Bill.

I want to see fast-track decisions and returns to clear the backlog and end hotel use, and for new agreements with France and other countries on returns, on family reunions and on reforming resettlement. I further believe the UK should invest in creation of a Cross-Border Police Unit, funded by redirecting spending away from the unworkable and unethical Rwanda Scheme.

A Labour government would approach this complex and tragic issue with the reason, empathy, and seriousness that it deserves, and that it has sadly not been afforded by the successive Conservative governments of the last 13 years.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this issue. I will be doing all that I can to oppose and scrutinise the Bill at every opportunity.