Suella Braverman's cruel bid to deny trafficking victims legal protection has narrowly avoided defeat - as critics warn it will benefit the criminal gangs she claims to be tackling.
Former Prime Minister Theresa May broke ranks to deliver a scathing assessment of the callous Home Secretary's plans, saying they would "consign more people to slavery".
She also warned Ms Braverman's Illegal Migration Act would "tie the hands of police" and benefit "slave drivers" who would use it to stop their victims coming forward.
But after Mrs May failed to convince enough of her Conservative colleagues to rebel, Labour's Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said they had "given up on both common decency and common sense".
In a bruising debate for Ms Braverman, the ex-PM - who was herself Home Secretary between 2010 and 2016 - pointed out the inhumanity of the bill saying it would enable traffickers to profit from "human misery".
She told the Commons: "I know that ministers have said this Bill will enable more perpetrators to be stopped, but on modern slavery I genuinely believe it will do the opposite. It will enable more slave drivers to operate and make money out of human misery. It will consign more people to slavery."
Her warning was echoed by former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith.
Incredibly however MPs rejected an amendment from the House of Lords to safeguard victims of modern slaver by 285 to 243 - a majority of 42.
At the moment protection against removal from the UK is currently given to suspected victims of modern slavery or human trafficking while their case is considered.
Ms Braverman's Bill removes this protection for those judged to have entered the UK illegally..
Yvette Cooper, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, fumed: “This Bill is a con which will make things easier for criminal gangs and make the asylum backlog even worse. Hotel use is still going up, yet this Bill will only result in even more people in a permanent and costly backlog. And two former Tory leaders have joined in warning that this Bill will make it easier for trafficking gangs.
“Today Tory Ministers have voted against measures to crack down on smuggler gangs, measures to make it easier to stop trafficking, and measures to safeguard vulnerable children. They have given up on both common decency and common sense."
In a spirited debate in the Commons, Shadow Immigration Minister Stephen Kinnock said the Bill is a "traffickers charter".
He accused ministers of trying to "manufacture headlines rather than tackle the asylum crisis"..
The House of Lords mauled the Government's legislation last week, putting forward 20 amendments calling for better protection for children, pregnant women and victims of slavery.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick told MPs: "The Stop The Boats Bill is designed to ensure the UK can be an even greater force for good in the world by using our finite resources on those who truly need it."
He added: "It's vital that this Bill reaches the statute book quickly and in a form that will stop the boats. It is riddled with exceptions and get-out clauses as currently placed in by the (House of Lords).
"If that happens it will simply not work. We have to send a clear message back to the (House of Lords) that it is now their turn to think again and to respect the will of the elected House."
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