Defeats for small boats bill in the Lords as Channel crossings set new record

Rolled-up inflatable dinghies and outboard engines stored in Dover, believed to have been used by people who were picked up at sea while crossing the Channel to England. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

The government’s small boats bill has suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords, as Channel crossings in June by people seeking asylum set a new record.

Peers voted on Monday to limit the time that children and pregnant women who claim asylum after arriving by irregular means can be detained, and backed preventing LGBTQ+ people from being deported to a country where they would have a well-founded fear of persecution.