Suella Braverman has described the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill as “humanitarian at core” as it receives its final reading in the Commons today.
The Bill will give the Government new powers to detain and remove people who arrive in small boats, but the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has warned the bill risks exposing people to serious harm.
The ECHR said it was particularly concerned about pregnant women and children being detained if they arrive in the UK illegally.
Speaking to TalkTV’s Julia Hartley-Brewer, the Home Secretary said the legislation is something the British people “overwhelmingly want.”
Suella: “Our Parliament is there to speak for the British people. This Government is introducing legislation that the British people overwhelmingly want, they want us to stop the boats.
“The measures I have introduced will design a scheme whereby if you arrive here illegally you will be detained and swiftly removed to a safe country like Rwanda or your home country if it is safe.
“I urge my colleagues in the House of Lords to get behind these measures. They are absolutely vital for us to stop the boats, they are vital to stop people making this treacherous journey in the first place.
“I describe our measures as humanitarian at core, because people are paying tens of thousands of pounds to people smuggling gangs. They are dying on the Channel in the hope to get to a life in the UK.
“They should not be making that journey in the first place, leaving a safe country like France, so we need to bring an end to this practice. Our measures contained in the Illegal Migration Bill will be a big tool in helping us fix the problem.
“What I don’t want to see is 45,000 people crossing the channel in a year. I don’t want to see us spending £6 million pounds a day on hotel accommodation. I can’t put an exact figure on it , but I think it’ll be very obvious whether we have succeeded or not in stopping the boats.”
Source: Talk TV
