Lords interfere with migrant plans but should deliver ‘what the people want’

Peers were last night accused of frustrating the will of the people after ripping up laws to end the small boats crisis. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby led the latest onslaught against the government’s plans to deport migrants who arrive in the UK illegally. But ministers are intent on overturning the changes and bulldozing the legislation through in a late night showdown later this month. Government insiders insisted they are determined to deliver on ‘what the British people want’. Tory Anna Firth, part of the New Conservatives group campaigning to tackle migration, said peers had ‘yet again interfered’ with plans that would save lives and stop people ‘unfairly jumping the queue’. She added: ‘Last night they voted against securing our borders and opted to show an ever more lenient hand to those who come to this country illegally. While the peers made arguments appealing to high emotions around refugees fleeing war, they failed to focus on justice, fairness and sovereignty. ‘The British public should decide who comes to our country through the ballot box. It is not for evil people smugglers nor unelected peers to set the agenda nor seek to frustrate the will of the people.’ Rishi Sunak and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (Image: Getty) A government source said: ‘It’s pretty disappointing that unelected Lords and Labour have voted down this bill, frustrating what the British people want this Conservative government to deliver. “The bill is designed to end the immoral and inhumane practice of criminal gangs exploiting vulnerable people by sending them on small boats to cross the channel. We will do everything in our power to deliver what the British people want and stop the boats.” The Archbishop of Canterbury tabled amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill that would force ministers to introduce long-term plans on refugees and people trafficking. Mr Welby also signed a letter with faith leaders calling for the Government to ensure there is a ‘just’ and ‘compassionate’ asylum policy. The letter said: ‘The Illegal Migration Bill falls short of our obligation towards the most vulnerable. It fails to meet the basic test of an evidence-based and workable policy. We need an alternative approach that reflects our country’s history, values and responsibility. ‘With more than 100 million people displaced around the world, this crisis will not be solved without significant collective endeavour.” Sunak to crack down on illegal immigration (Image: PA) But Lord Lilley told the archbishop he had failed to come up with any practical solutions to solve the small boats crisis. ‘He hasn’t come forward with a policy,” the peer said. “He’s come forward with a policy to have a policy. And it is not a policy for him to have a policy. It’s a policy for the government to have a policy. And it’s a policy that the government’s policy must be agreed by other government’s overseas.’ Downing Street insisted the plans are ‘fair and compassionate’ after the attack by faith leaders. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘I’m not going to get into responding to individual views of which there are many on this issue. ‘But the Prime Minister has been clear that stopping the boats, stopping the cruel cycle of vulnerable people being exploited by criminal gangs, is the fair and compassionate thing to do.’ All the changes peers have made will now go back to the Commons, where MPs are expected to overturn them. But they will then return to the Lords in repeated rounds of fraught parliamentary ‘ping pong’ until the bill passes. Small boats arrive in UK (Image: Getty) The legislation would allow migrants who arrive illegally to be detained and swiftly removed to a third country or back to their home nation. An appeal against a judgment ruling the government’s Rwanda plan is unlawful is expected to be submitted today. Senior Conservative Sir John Hayes said processing migrants off-shore had proved to be a deterrent in Australia and led to a ‘large reduction’ in the number of people coming. He added: ‘It’s not about people coming genuinely seeking refuge because they fear persecution. ‘It’s about an industry of people traffickers who broadcast the message that if you get to Britain you will never leave. ‘You have to get to the root of that message and when you say you are going to process people in Rwanda their sales pitch is found to be groundless.’ It comes amid growing frustration in the Conservative party over accommodation plans for migrants waiting to be processed. Richard Drax, the Conservative MP for South Dorset, raised concerns about hundreds of young men being housed in the Bibby Stockholm barge just off the coast of his constituency. He told the Commons: ‘My constituents in Weymouth and on Portland and I are getting a little tired of being told that placing a migrant barge in our port is in the national interest. It is not in the national interest, nor in ours. ‘This barge designed for 222 will accommodate 506 illegal migrants, already testing our overstretched resources. It was imposed on us without any consultation. ‘Many concerns, both on the barge, and what the 506 young men will do going around a seaside resort at the height of the summer unmonitored and with little money.’ Archbishop of Canterbury is requiring a 10-year strategy (Image: Getty) The Archbishop of Canterbury spearheaded a defeat. Mr Welby led a cross-party move, backed by 186 votes to 131, majority 55, which would force the Government to draw up a 10-year strategy for collaborating internationally to tackle both the refugee crisis, driving unauthorised migration to the UK, and human trafficking. Mr Welby insisted his amendment requiring a 10-year strategy to be produced by the Government did not damage the Bill but would improve it. The Archbishop of Canterbury said: ‘We need a calmer and properly structured look at the whole area of migration. This amendment does not wreck or damage the Bill or indeed set intentions for the Government to follow. ‘It is intended to be helpful, to improve the Bill by mitigating some of the concerns about a lack of a global and long-term perspective on the issues.’ He added: ‘I hope the Government can see that this amendment is a positive and constructive suggestion whatever I or others may feel about the Bill in general. I urge the Government to develop a strategy that is ambitious, collaborative and worthy of our history and up to the scale of the enormous challenges that we face.’