London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025

Asylum seekers: Will this migrant bill become a reality?

Asylum seekers: Will this migrant bill become a reality?

Suella Braverman told MPs that the government's new plan to stop small boats was "novel" - but the most important words are on the front page of this enormously dense document.

Every bill that is presented to Parliament - big or small - comes with a statement assuring MPs and Peers that the plans respect the UK's human rights rules.

But this time, the home secretary has admitted the plans may not be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and could therefore fall at the first hurdle.

Yet this is not deemed a reason for the government to pause - in fact, Ms Braverman and the prime minister say this legislation is necessary to "stop the boats".


Haven't we been here before?


In political terms, yes. This is the second major piece of immigration legislation from this government in two years. Former Home Secretary Priti Patel's bill promised to stop the small boats, partly through creating a rule that anyone arriving from a safe country - basically meaning France - would not have their case considered at all.

It also criminalised unauthorised arrival on our shores - a move that has been recently upheld by senior judges as lawful, even if the individuals are seeking protection.

But those people have not been removed from the UK. Critics say that this emboldens smugglers to convince clients that if they can make it over the English Channel, there's every chance they won't get removed.

So this new plan goes much further. It denies most people arriving from France or another safe country the right to make an asylum claim - even if they may have a case to do so - and places a duty on the home secretary to remove them as quickly as possible. That is an enormous toughening up of the rules - and is just one of the reasons why critics say it breaks the UK's international obligations to treat potential refugees fairly.

Not so, say ministers. The UK takes more than it's fair share, they argue. Almost 60,000 Afghans, Syrians and others have come on official schemes in recent years and 220,000 Ukrainians have been given entry visas since February 2022.

What's not remotely clear is whether the plan will have any impact on smugglers. The evidence gathered by my colleagues in France suggests not. Migrants tend not to know what awaits them in the UK.


Is it practically deliverable ?


Assuming the plan makes it through Parliament, there are questions over whether it will work in practice.

Border Force officers will have a new power to detain almost everyone who cross the English Channel for at least 28 days while the home secretary and her team book them onto flights out of the UK.

But where are these people going to be held? Last year's 45,000 arrivals are equivalent to half of the UK's prison capacity. Holding someone in a secure unit is far more expensive than placing them in a house, flat or hotel room. Prison is famously more expensive than some of the UK's top private schools.

Ministers say they don't expect to be holding anywhere near that number at any one time - but last August almost 9,000 migrants arrived in that month alone. Can the Home Office set up that many secure units before this summer? When the prime minister was asked on Tuesday night where these people would be put, he didn't say.

By the end of those 28 days, ministers say they would want to remove those people to a safe country - but there are few returns agreements in place and no deal at all with the EU since Brexit.

People who are still in detention after 28 days will be able to launch challenges before immigration tribunals arguing that they are being unlawfully held.

This prospect will alarm judges. The current backlog of unresolved immigration cases is just shy of 29,000 with a 46-week wait for a decision.

What about Rwanda? Well that plan is mired in the Court of Appeal. It could take months to rule on whether it's lawful - and then the case will almost certainly go the Supreme Court. It may not rule before 2024.



Is this actually legal?


Throughout the plan the wording aims to limit rights to appeal and to make it harder for arriving migrants to make a claim to stay on.

Supporters say this brings much needed common sense to a system that has too many rights of appeal and delays to allowing ministers to act for the public.

But none of that can do away with the simple fact that the home secretary herself does not know if this plan can succeed. In a letter to MPs, she simultaneously says she believes the plan is workable but it has more than a 50% chance of failing in the courts.

What this means in practice is that her own lawyers have told her it could be torn to shreds if it is challenged as unfair and inhumane.

It is exceptionally rare for a minister to introduce a bill while admitting this possibility. And that in turn would leave MPs asking why they should vote for it in the first place.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×