MPs voted in March on a number of aspects of the anti-refugee, Nationality and Borders Bill.
There are many harmful proposals contained within this bill. We are particularly concerned by Clause 11, which would see people who are seeking safety treated differently based on how they arrive in the UK, ultimately criminalising people because they travelled here independently.
On 4 April, the House of Lords debated the Bill again, and voted to take a strong stand once again against the Bill. The Lords stood up against the bill’s proposals to treat people differently based on how they arrive in the UK, along with plans to allow the Home Office to remove people’s British citizenship.
The Lords’ stance is really welcome news, and we hope it gives the Government reason to pause and rethink these appalling proposals. People with experience of the asylum system, charities, the United Nations and now the House of Lords have told the UK Government just how dangerous and ill thought through this bill is. It’s time for the Government to finally listen and put the brakes on this bill.
Our chief executive Sabir Zazai said:
“The proposals in the bill are cruel, ruthless and go against the spirit of the UN Refugee Convention, which says nothing about discriminating against people based on how they travelled to the UK. Under these proposals, if a woman fleeing the war in Ukraine travelled independently to the UK to seek refugee protection, she would be judged a criminal and sent back to a warzone. It is immoral, heartless and, we believe, unworkable in practice.
“However, if we can take anything positive from yesterday’s debates, it is the growing criticism of the bill from MPs, including from an increasing number of the UK Government’s own representatives.
“These MPs in particular now must listen to members of the public who want a kinder, more effective approach towards refugees.
“There is still time for the government to change course. We urge ministers to honour their promises to provide safe routes for people seeking safety and agree to the proposal made by the House of Lords that the UK pledges to resettle 10,000 refugees a year from around the world so it doesn’t have to respond on-the-hoof every time an international crisis like Ukraine strikes. This must serve as a wake-up call to the UK government that it needs to take reform seriously, show that it is listening to its own MPs, and propose an alternative way forward.”
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