FORMER prime minister Theresa May took the lead on Tuesday (11) in opposing Rishi Sunak’s small boats Bill, accusing the government of consigning more people to slavery if it goes ahead without any changes.
May expressed her continuous disagreement with ministers who declined to safeguard individuals who become victims of modern slavery within the UK from deportation under the Illegal Migration Bill, reported The Telegraph.
While speaking in the House of Commons during the consideration of the Lords amendments to the Bill, May said that it would reverse the positive progress achieved by her Modern Slavery Act.
She urged ministers to accept a Lords amendment exempting UK slavery victims from removal.
“The government’s response would be we don’t care that you’ve been in slavery in the UK, we don’t care that you’ve been in a living hell, we don’t care that you have been the victim of crime,” May was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
“We do care that you came here illegally even though you probably didn’t know it, so we’re going to detain you and send you home even if it’s into the arms of the very people who trafficked you here in the first place or we want to send you to Rwanda.”
According to the former prime minister, the Bill will enable more slave drivers to operate despite ministers’ claims that it would aid in apprehending more wrongdoers.
In her view, the Bill would provide a platform for additional slave drivers to thrive and profit from the suffering of fellow human beings, ultimately leading to an increase in the number of individuals subjected to slavery.
“I think if Lords amendment 56 is overthrown that will be the impact,” she said.
Former Tory leader, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, also backed May. He said that the government’s modern slavery crackdown would mean fewer prosecutions of people traffickers.
More than a dozen Tory MPs voted against the government. They demanded increased protections for detaining unaccompanied child migrants and urged for the expedited establishment of new safe and legal pathways for refugees.
Tim Loughton, a former children’s minister, spearheaded a revolt against proposals to detain unaccompanied children for a maximum period of eight days, which could be extended to 28 days if their ages were in question.
He said ministers had failed to provide assurances regarding the well-being and proper treatment of detained children.
The government successfully secured victory in all of its votes, managing to overturn 15 defeats from the House of Lords, while also making concessions on five other issues. However, their majority was reduced from 62 to 42 during crucial votes on child detention and modern slavery due as Tory MP’s rebelled.
The Bill will now be sent back to the House of Lords on Wednesday, where peers have the potential to reintroduce their amendments, after which it will return to the House of Commons.
Ministers have hinted at the possibility of utilising the Parliament Acts, a rare measure, to override the objections of the House of Lords if peers continue to block the plans.
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, informed MPs that the Bill, as modified by the House of Lords, contained numerous exceptions and escape clauses, rendering it unworkable if enacted as it currently stands.
As many as 686 migrants crossed the Channel in a single day on Friday (7), the most in one day this year, according to the Home Office.
Sunak said the latest data is ‘really a much better result’ than expected.
