A summary of today's developments
MPs rejected a number of Lords amendments to the illegal immigration bill. The votes are scheduled to continue this evening but this is the end of our coverage for today.
Earlier, Theresa May warned if Lords amendment 56 to the illegal immigration bill is overthrown it will “consign more people to slavery – no doubt about it”. In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 56, the ayes voted 285, the noes voted 243, giving a majority of 42.
Tim Farron, the former Liberal Democrat leader, said the bill is “comfortably the worst piece of legislation” he has seen come to the House of Commons.
Downing Street declined to provide a deadline for the passage of the illegal migration bill through parliament. The PM’s official spokesperson declined to say if it would be before the summer recess this month.
Stephen Kinnock, the shadow immigration minister, said the Rwanda deportation plan is “fundamentally flawed”, and accused Robert Jenrick of “pettiness” for painting over Mickey Mouse cartoons in an immigration centre. He said the Rwanda policy must “surely be the most expensive press release in history”.
Rishi Sunak “commended” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for supporting Sweden in its Nato membership bid during his bilateral meeting with the Turkish leader.
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MPs vote to reject amendment 102 to Illegal Migration Bill
In the vote to disagree with Lords Amendment 102, the ayes voted 282, the noes voted 234, giving a majority of 48.
MPs have divided to vote on Lords amendment 102 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment would require councils to furnish asylum seekers with information about what support they are entitled to or which organisations offer advice.
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MPs vote to reject amendment 95 to illegal migration bill
In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 95, the ayes voted 295, the noes voted 220, giving a majority of 75.
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MPs have divided to vote on Lords amendment 95 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment maintains existing protections against removal for potential human trafficking victims who are exploited in the UK.
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MPs vote to reject amendment 93 to illegal migration bill
In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 93, the ayes voted 296, the noes voted 220, giving a majority of 76.
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MPs have divided to vote on Lords amendment 93 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment makes provisions relating to the removal of people where human slavery and trafficking are alleged to be involved.
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MPs vote to reject amendment 90 to illegal migration bill.
In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 90, the ayes voted 295, the noes voted 228, giving a majority of 67.
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MPs have divided to vote on Lords amendment 90 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment makes provision that victims of trafficking are not detained or removed from the UK without being given due process with legal claims to remain in the UK.
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MPs vote to reject amendment 73 to illegal migration bill
In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 73, the ayes voted 297, the noes voted 227, giving a majority of 70.
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MPs have divided to vote on Lords amendment 73 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment makes provision that no person under 18 seeking asylum can be detained and adults seeking asylum can only be detained for 28 consecutive days.
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MPs vote to reject amendment 56 to illegal migration bill.
In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 56, the ayes voted 285, the noes voted 243, giving a majority of 42.
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MPs have divided to vote on Lords amendment 56 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment removes a provision of the bill that would prevent judicial review challenges to an age assessment aimed at stopping the removal of people seeking asylum.
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MPs vote to reject amendment 50 to illegal migration bill
In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 50, the ayes voted 294, the noes voted 228, giving a majority of 66.
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MPs have divided to vote on Lords amendment 50 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment limits the Home Office’s power to transfer a child out of local authority care and into a shelter controlled by central government.
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MPs vote to reject amendment 39 to illegal migration bill.
In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 39, the ayes voted 300, the noes voted 229, giving a majority of 71.
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MPs have divided to vote on Lords amendment 39 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment deals with the legal definition of “serious and irreversible harm” in relation to the treatment, by authorities, of people seeking asylum in the UK.
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MPs vote to accept some government amendments
MPs have voted to accept government amendments (a) and (b) in lieu of Lords amendments 31, 35 and 36.
The ayes voted 284, the noes voted 242, giving a majority of 42.
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MPs have divided to vote on government amendments (a) and (b) in lieu of Lords amendments 31, 35, and 36 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendments concern the limits on putting children into detention in the asylum system and how the bill applies the Children Act 1989.
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MPs vote to reject amendment 33 to illegal migration bill.
In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 33, the ayes voted 299, the noes voted 227, giving a majority of 72.
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MPs have divided to vote on Lords amendment 33 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment would retain existing limits on the detention of children in the asylum system.
MPs vote to reject amendment 31 to illegal migration bill.
In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 31, the ayes voted 290, the noes voted 242, giving a majority of 48.
So far this evening, six Lords amendments have been overturned.
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MPs have divided to vote on Lords amendment 31 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment imposes limitations on the detention of unaccompanied children in the asylum system.
MPs vote to reject amendment 23 to illegal migration bill.
In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 23, the ayes voted 297, the noes voted 231, giving a majority of 66 to overturn the Lords amendment.
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MPs have divided to vote on Lords amendment 23 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment would ban people identifying as LGBT from being removed to a numbers of countries which have anti-LGBT laws or ban homosexual relationships including Rwanda.
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MPs vote to reject amendment 9 to illegal migration bill.
In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 9, the ayes voted 304, the noes voted 228, giving a majority of 76 to overturn the Lords amendment.
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MPs have divided to vote on Lords amendment 9 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment would remove the bill’s ban on people who have had their asylum appeal turned down from challenging this decision. The amendment would allow an appeal after a further six months.
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Earlier, Stephen Kinnock, the shadow immigration minister, criticised the government’s illegal migration bill after it was returned from the Lords with a series of amendments that Robert Jenrick said threatened the bill’s aim of deterring small boats.
MPs vote to reject amendment 8 to illegal migration bill
In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 8, the ayes voted 299, the noes voted 228, giving a majority of 71.
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MPs have now divided to vote on Lords amendment 8 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment would modify some of the bill’s sanctions on family members of a person seeking asylum in the UK.
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MPs vote to reject amendment 6 to illegal migration bill
In the vote to disagree with Lords amendment 6, the ayes voted 303, the noes voted 227, giving a majority of 76.
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MPs have now divided to vote on Lords amendment 6 to the illegal migration bill.
The amendment would prevent the bill from imposing a retroactive effect on laws, therefore authorities are not compelled to remove people who arrived in the UK before the bill becomes law.
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MPs vote to reject amendment 1 to illegal migration bill.
The ayes voted 303, the noes voted 228, giving a majority of 75.
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MPs have divided to vote on Lords amendment 1 to the illegal migration bill, which would prevent any laws made by the bill from conflicting with UN human rights treaties that the UK is a signatory to.
The result is expected shortly.
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Jeremy Corbyn speaking next, says the bill is “appalling in so many ways” and is “walking us away” from human rights.
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Anna Firth, Conservative MP for Southend West, says spending on illegal migrants is “unsustainable” and “deeply unfair on vulnerable people in this country that need our support”.
The Lords have sent “reams of amendments” – many of which she claims are designed to frustrate the public.
However she says she supports government’s amendments, including on retrospection and pregnant women.
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John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington and former shadow chancellor, says he fears this bill will rule out children’s opportunity for asylum by crossing the Channel and what happens to them when they are detained.
“I am concerned that we are reverting to the potential of a brutal regime of the past.”
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Carrie and Boris Johnson have announced the birth of their third child, a second son.
Carrie Johnson, in the caption of an Instagram post with a picture of her holding the newborn, joked: “Welcome to the world Frank Alfred Odysseus Johnson born 5th July at 9.15am. (Can you guess which name my husband chose?!)”
The former prime minister Boris Johnson is keen to be thought of as a scholar of the classics. In Greek mythology, Odysseus leaves behind his wife and child to seek adventure, encountering many other women along the way.
Carrie Johnson added:
Am loving every minute of the sleepy baby bubble. Seeing my older two embrace their new brother with such joy and excitement has been the most wonderful thing to see. We are all very smitten.
Thank you so much to the incredible NHS maternity team at UCLH. They really are the most amazing, caring people. I feel such immense gratitude. Now, can anyone recommend any good series/box sets to binge while breastfeeding? Time for a drink.
A Conservative MP and former minister is listed in shareholder registers as personally owning stakes in companies worth nearly £500,000, raising questions about the effectiveness of the controversial parliamentary “blind trust” system used to buy the shares.
Jonathan Djanogly, the MP for Huntingdon, holds shares in Lloyds Bank worth more than £180,000, has an investment worth £120,000 in the housebuilding company Persimmon and a stake worth almost £80,000 in Sainsbury’s. He has smaller stakes in six other companies including the energy supplier Centrica.
The investments have come to light as part of a Guardian investigation into what are in effect secret shareholdings of MPs.
Djanogly’s current shareholdings have not been publicly declared in parliamentary registers because, he says, they are held in a blind trust, a key mechanism used by ministers to distance themselves from their financial interests.
Farron’s heated speech comes to a close. “What it [the bill] does is undermines Britain’s reputation around the world,” he says.
“We are indeed overwhelmed… overwhelmed by the government’s epic incompetence,” says Farron.
The UK, Farron says, is “not being swamped”, and that other countries, such as Germany, have taken more refugees from Ukraine and the rest of the world.
It is “an excuse” for the UK to meet its international obligation, he adds.
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Lib Dem Tim Farron says bill is 'worst piece of legislation' he has ever seen
Now it is the turn of Tim Farron, the former Liberal Democrat leader, who says the bill is “comfortably the worst piece of legislation” he has seen come to the House of Commons.
He said:
This remains, in my 18-plus years in this place, comfortably the worst piece of legislation I have seen come to this house.
This, he says, is because it is based on “several bogus understandings of the truth” and that it has a “deplorable bias to the inhumane”.
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Laura Farris, Conservative MP for Newbury, says there is “no principled argument to be made” to remove retrospective effect from bill, saying it will encourage people smugglers to “surge crossings” before it receives royal assent.
“Leave children out of it,” says Johnson. “And for those children who arrive in the UK on their own and are then taken into care, do not mark their 18th birthday by issuing them a deportation notice having refused to consider whether they should be granted permanent sanctuary.”
Johnson says she agrees with May’s comments on slavery and trafficking (see also 3.32pm) and that the children’s commissioner has come to a similar conclusion.
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Diana Johnson, the chair of the home affairs committee, says the bill has been “rushed through parliament” and agrees that it has become incredibly complicated.
It is the failure to process a number of years worth of asylum applications, she says, not the small boats, that are clogging up the asylum system.
She calls for an “efficient, speedy asylum claim process”, and cites Germany’s system as a good example.
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Tory MP attacks 'complicated' bill and accuses government of not sending amendments until last night
Tim Loughton, Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, says he supports the bill but that the government concessions on child detention are not enough and that there is nothing in the bill on age disputes.
Jenrick: -There is no need to amend clause 10 but happy to followup later.
Loughton: “I think we may have to. Because that’s certainly not my understanding. There are Henry VII sections in clause 10 which still give ultimate discretion to the secretary of state …
“This is, I’m afraid, symptomatic of what is the continuing problems with this bill. It’s become so complicated, there are lots of double negatives within it and only last night, at I think 7.45pm, did the government publish their amendments, which we had just a few hours to scrutinise ahead of today. This needs proper explanation …
“The assurances that we were promised have not materialised … on that basis I’m afraid we cannot, and I speak for many others I hope on this side, take these amendments in lieu at face value and more work needs to be done.”
He says he hopes it will go back to the Lords.
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Stuart C McDonald, the SNP’s immigration spokesperson, says the bill “should have alarm bells ringing” and that it is going to be “a disaster”.
“It is a desperate last throw of the dice from a desperate government.”
This bill doesn’t need to be amended, he says, it needs to be stopped.
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Theresa May says new asylum bill will 'consign more people to slavery'
Theresa May says if Lords amendment 56 to the illegal immigration bill is overthrown it will “consign more people to slavery – no doubt about it”.
The Conservative former PM said:
We all want to stop the boats … but this bill is not just written to stop the boats, it covers all illegal migration and its unwritten subtext is the stop-certain-victims’-claims-of-slavery bill.
She added:
The evidence of the police is clear: if you want victims to provide evidence to bring slave drivers to justice, the victims need time, they need support and they need to be here.
The bill, she said, “ties the hands of the police” and “undoes the good work of the modern slavery act”.
It will consign more people to slavery – no doubt about it. If Lords amendment 56 is overthrown that will be the impact.
She said the minister has shown willingness to look for mitigations but only in guidance.
A link to the illegal migration bill, as it was introduced, is here.
Amendment 56 says:
Clause 21, page 26, leave out line 19 and insert— “(3A) Subsection (2) also does not apply in relation to a person if the relevant exploitation took place in the United Kingdom. (3B) Where subsection (3) or (3A) applies in relation to a person the following do not apply in relation to the person— (a) section 22, (b) section 23, and (c) section 24. (4) In this section—”
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Kinnock says the government has “sent more home secretaries to Rwanda than they have asylum seekers” and urges the government to “fix the broken asylum system” as he calls for a general election.
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Theresa May accuses government of using incorrect modern slavery statistics
Theresa May told the immigration minister Robert Jenrick that he is not using the correct statistics when he claims that modern slavery claims from migrants are rising.
The immigration minister told the Commons there were “clear opportunities to misuse modern slavery protections” and that it was “essential that we take steps in this bill to prevent misuse”.
He added: “The NRM [national referral mechanism] referral rate for people arriving in the UK on small boats and being detained for return has risen from 6% for detentions ending in 2019, to 73% in 2021.”
May, the former prime minister, said:
He knows that I have a problem with the statistics. He has yet again quoted the statistics that the minister in the other place [House of Lords] quotes as well, the rate of which gives the implication that the percentage of people coming on small boats and claiming modern slavery has risen from 6% to 73%.
It did not. What he is talking about is people who are subsequently detained for removal. Will he now confirm that the average percentage of people coming on small boats and claiming modern slavery has not changed over the last three years and is around 7%?
Jenrick replied:
The statistics I have referred to are the most relevant statistics, because this is the point that individuals are in the detained estate for the purpose of removal, their removal from the United Kingdom is imminent, and what we are seeing is a very high proportion of them are using the NRM to try to delay that removal.
Stephen Kinnock said later that the government’s use of incorrect statistics “distorts the debate and plays into the hands of the people traffickers” and runs the risk of turning this bill into a “traffickers’ charter”.
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Shadow immigration minister says new asylum bill will 'make a terrible situation worse'
Kinnock said the bill “will only make a terrible situation worse” – by increasing the backlog, the cost and “ensure people smugglers are laughing all the way to the bank”.
Asylum seekers are “melting into the underground economy”, he says, and many of t will never be heard from or seen by authorities again.
Withdrawals as a proportion of completed cases have increased from 20% to 50% under the PM’s watch, he said.
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Shadow immigration minister says Rwanda plan 'fundamentally flawed' and 'shambolic farce'
Stephen Kinnock, the shadow immigration minister, says the Rwanda deportation plan is “fundamentally flawed”, and accuses Jenrick of “pettiness” for painting over Mickey Mouse cartoons in an immigration centre.
The Rwanda policy must “surely be the most expensive press release in history”.
“This whole sorry tale is a shambolic farce,” he said.
The cost of the asylum system is now estimated to be seven times higher than it was under the last Labour government, he says. And the backlog is nine times higher than when Labour left office in 2010.
“Numbers are going up, not down … the prime minister is failing in his pledge to reduce asylum seeker hotel use.
“And to make matters worse, the National Audit Office has declared that the government will also fail to achieve its aim of clearing the so-called legacy backlog of 92,000 cases by the end of this year.”
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Jenrick accuses Lords of providing amendments 'riddled with exceptions and getout clauses' and urges them to 'think again'
Robert Jenrick says it is “vital” that the bill reaches the statute book quickly and says Lords amendments are “riddled with exceptions and get-out clauses”, urging them to “think again”.
The public, the immigration minister says, “expects us to tackle this issue”.
He says:
[The bill] is riddled with exceptions and get-out clauses as currently placed in by the other place. If that happens it will simply not work. We have to send a clear message back to the other place that it is now their turn to think again and to respect the will of the elected house. The public expects us to tackle this issue.
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Finally, Jenrick says, Lords amendment 104, put forward by the archbishop of Canterbury, is “well meaning but we don’t believe necessary. It’s a distraction from the immediate priority of stopping the boats and tackling the threat to life.”
He says the amendment doesn’t reflect what the government has already done to tackle the refugee crisis and human trafficking, and to respond to crises.
“By getting a grip on illegal migration we aim to reduce the pressure that it places on our public services and on community cohesion and to increase capacity to support those who seek sanctuary here in the UK.”
To make the UK “an even greater force for good”.
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Next Jenrick addresses Lords amendment 103 relating to the National Crime Agency (NCA), which he says amounts to “legislative grandstanding” and “risks undermining” the director general.
Hilary Benn, the Labour MP for Leeds Central, says one thing that would help stop the boats is to bring forward safe and legal routes.
Jenrick says he doesn’t believe this argument will reduce the numbers entering in small boats. The individuals they would allow to arrive by safe and legal routes would be “quite different”. Families and vulnerable people directly from conflict zones and refugee camps as opposed to “offering a safe and legal route to predominantly young men in a place of safety”.
Jenrick says new routes will be implemented “as soon as practicable and in any event by the end of 2024”.
Robert Buckland, Conservative MP for Swindon South, asks that timeframe for new safe and legal routes be brought forward, saying “18 months hence is an inordinately long time”. “Could we at least have much more of a sense of urgency,” he asks, and to bring forward much earlier than the end of next year.
Jenrick says it’s “not practicable” that new routes could be brought into being within two months of publication of the report, saying it takes time and it’s important to give Home Office needed time.
More humanitarian visas were issued last year than any prior government “probably since the second world war”.
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Conservative Vicky Ford asks what is maximum amount of time child could be waiting in local authority care?
Jenrick: It’s only if local authority care is not immediately available that they will be placed in hotels. “The only limiting factor is the availability of local authority care to support them”. But, he admits: “It’s not simple”.
Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary, asks is it true that he gave order to paint over cartoons in accommodation?
Jenrick: “We provide very high quality care … We didn’t think the set-up in that particular unit was age appropriate.” Because, he says, majority using it were teenagers.
Claims that Cooper’s “compassion is to a degree performative” because she doesn’t come forward with an alternative.
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Jenrick warns MPs not to 'drive a coach and horses through' asylum bill
The immigration minister Robert Jenrick says in considering each of the Lords amendments MPs must ensure they don’t “drive a coach and horses through” what the bill is trying to achieve.
The aim, he told the House of Commons, is to stop all children and adults from crossing the Channel.
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Jenrick said the government thinks the bill is compatible with the refugee convention and international law.
We believe that all the matters outlined in this bill are within international legal obligation and should it or any aspect of the bill be legally challenged, we’ll contest that vigorously.
Referring to Lords amendment two, which changes the timeframe for the duty to make arrangements for removal, Jenrick said it goes “too far in resetting the clock”.
He said:
The closer we get to commencement of the bill, the greater the risk that organised criminals and people smugglers will seek to exploit this and we will see an increase in crossings as the deadline looms, which only puts more people at risk.
To guard against this, we brought forward amendments in lieu which move the application of the duty from 7 March to the date of royal assent. The March date would, however, continue to apply for the purpose of the secretary of state’s power to provide accommodation for unaccompanied children and for the purposes of the bans on re-entry, settlement, and citizenship.
This government amendment in lieu has a particular advantage with respect to the concerns expressed by the members for Maidenhead and Chingford (Theresa May and Sir Iain Duncan Smith) with regard to modern slavery.
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Debbie Abrahams, Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, is urging for a Homes for Afghans scheme to be implemented, similar to Homes for Ukraine.
Jenrick said that if it is possible, “this is something we should consider”.
More generally, on resettlement schemes, he said the UK is “one of the world’s leading countries”.
MPs are currently considering amendments made by peers to the illegal migration bill. The immigration minister Robert Jenrick says he disagrees with many of the changes proposed.
The government brought forward technical amendments in the Lords, he said.
But some changes put forward by peers are “little short of wrecking amends and not one the government can support”, he said.
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The health secretary, Steve Barclay, “can’t even successfully negotiate with his own chancellor”, Labour has claimed, saying the government has “lost the confidence” of NHS staff striking over pay.
The shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, cautioned in the Commons that the “worst strikes in the history of the NHS are still to come”, and asked: “What is the health secretary’s plan now to stop these strikes from going ahead?”
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Carrie Johnson has announced the birth of her third child with the former prime minister, Boris Johnson.
In an Instagram post with a picture of her holding the newborn, Johnson wrote:
Welcome to the world Frank Alfred Odysseus Johnson born 5th July at 9.15am. (Can you guess which name my husband chose?!).
Am loving every minute of the sleepy baby bubble. Seeing my older two embrace their new brother with such joy and excitement has been the most wonderful thing to see. We are all very smitten.
Thank you so much to the incredible NHS maternity team at UCLH. They really are the most amazing, caring people. I feel such immense gratitude.
Now, can anyone recommend any good series/box sets to binge while breastfeeding?
Time for a drink.
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The government will not sign up to any instrument at the World Health Organization (WHO) that could undermine the UK’s ability to make domestic decisions on public health measures, MPs have been told.
Health minister Will Quince’s remarks were in response to Tory former cabinet minister Esther McVey, who raised concerns about the proposed changes to the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005, currently being negotiated at the WHO.
McVey specifically asked whether these amendments would grant new rule-making powers to the WHO director general, potentially allowing binding directions on matters such as border closures, quarantining and vaccine passports.
Quince reiterated the UK’s “strong commitment” to international law but said that, “on this matter”, the government has been “absolutely clear” it will not sign up to any IHR amendments.
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An update on the Portcullis House atrium roof incident… (see also 12.17pm)
A House of Commons spokesperson said:
Teams are currently attending to an issue with the atrium roof in Portcullis House. The central part of the atrium has been cordoned off, with additional safety mitigations implemented to allow us to continue our investigations.
Committee meetings are still scheduled to take place, with amended access routes. Catering facilities remain open.
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Sunak has 'commended' Erdoğan for supporting Sweden's Nato membership
Rishi Sunak has “commended” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for supporting Sweden in its Nato membership bid during his bilateral meeting with the Turkish leader.
A Downing Street spokesperson said:
The prime minister met Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Nato summit in Vilnius today.
The prime minister welcomed Turkey’s support for Sweden’s accession to Nato and commended President Erdoğan for his efforts.
The leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to ensuring the UK-Turkey relationship reaches its full potential, building on growing trade links and strong defence and security cooperation.
Discussing opportunities to bolster our bilateral co-operation, including in cutting-edge defence technology and in addressing the shared challenge of illegal migration, the prime minister set out that dealing with criminal people smuggling gangs is a key priority for him.
Both leaders agreed to task their foreign ministers to look at areas for closer collaboration on migration and organised crime. The leaders also agreed to deepen intelligence sharing and co-operation on countering terrorism.
President Erdoğan updated the prime minister on president Zelenskiy’s recent visit to Turkey and the leaders agreed on the importance of ensuring an extension to the Black Sea grain deal. The leaders agreed to stay in close touch.
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Government declines to give deadline for passage of illegal migration bill
Downing Street has declined to provide a deadline for the passage of the illegal migration bill through parliament.
The PM’s official spokesperson declined to say whether it would be before the summer recess this month, saying:
We haven’t set that timeline previously. I’m not going to do so now. We want to move it through as quickly as possible, recognising that of course there’s significant views on either side of the debate. We will listen as we have done here, but our priority remains to secure royal assent.
The spokesperson said they were “not aware of any plans for further changes” to the draft legislation.
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Refugees, asylum seekers, torture victims and campaign groups urge MPs to vote against asylum bill
Campaigners are urging MPs to “stand on the right side of history” by voting against the government’s controversial asylum bill.
Refugees, asylum seekers, more than 60 victims of torture and around 30 campaign groups have written to members of the House of Commons to express their “horror” at the bill and urging them to vote against the proposed legislation.
It comes as MPs prepare to vote on changes to the illegal migration bill after it came under heavy scrutiny in the House of Lords (see also 9.40am).
Rishi Sunak has said he is “throwing absolutely everything” at preventing Channel crossings by migrants and insisted that his plan to “stop the boats” was working.
The letter, sent on Tuesday, said:
It’s time for this government to once and for all scrap their inhumane approach to refugees and rebuild the asylum system on foundations of compassion and human dignity ...
Finding safety in the UK is an incredible opportunity to rebuild your life. We urge you to not take away this lifeline from the refugees that follow in our footsteps.
It is now time for you to stand on the right side of history and oppose this shameful piece of legislation when it returns to the House of Commons.
MPs are expected to cast votes from 5pm on the changes, backed by the House of Lords after being defeated 20 times and attracting multiple revisions.
On Monday, the Home Office offered some concessions – including detention time limits for children and pregnant women and removing a clause to prevent the law being applied retrospectively from March.
The letter’s signatories, including charities Freedom from Torture, Care4Calais and Refugee Action alongside individuals, said:
These cruel plans won’t stop people taking dangerous journeys to find safety in the UK.
Instead, this bill closes the door on refugees, punishing people who had little other choice but to risk their life reaching the UK.
We know this because when you are fleeing the danger of torture, persecution or war, there is absolutely nothing that can stop you. You are on autopilot. It’s like being in a burning house and finding an escape window. Nothing can deter a human being when they are fleeing for their life.
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Not enough consideration given to impact of lockdown measures, Arlene Foster tells Covid inquiry
Insufficient consideration was given to the impact of lockdown measures at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the former Northern Ireland first minister and Democratic Unionist party leader has told the UK Covid inquiry.
Arlene Foster said Northern Ireland was left “without ministerial cover” by Westminster at a time when the Stormont power sharing institutions had collapsed before the pandemic.
The inquiry is hearing from Northern Ireland witnesses this week as it looks at how the UK was prepared for the pandemic before it hit in early 2020. Foster said the emergence of Covid led to fear and panic.
She said:
It was felt there was a need to lock down in a particular way. I do not think that enough consideration was given to the impact, the non-health impact, and there were many health impacts as well that were not foreseen.
The devastating impact that Covid had on so many families in Northern Ireland stays with me because it was a devastating impact, many people lost loved ones in devastating circumstances that have been set out by the bereaved families’ statement.
I want to take this opportunity to give them my condolences and my sympathies.
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A plane of glass has broken in the roof of Portcullis House in parliament, causing water to fall into the atrium.
A cordon and warning signs were placed around the area by parliamentary staff, the PA Media news agency reports, with a puddle and broken glass visible on the floor in the middle of the area.
Here are some of the images and footage being shared on Twitter:
Ceiling of Portcullis house just cracked open and water pouring in! pic.twitter.com/e6CH8G9KnI
— Natasha Porter OBE (@NPorter_) July 11, 2023
Water just flooded down from the roof in Portcullis House sending people running for cover . It was so heavy and loud, I initially thought it was shattered glass .
— Anne Alexander (@Annemariealex) July 11, 2023
The area is now cordoned off and there is a huge puddle on the floor.
(Shaky footage of the aftermath) pic.twitter.com/BuyBRusVs5
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Dan Sabbagh, the Guardian’s defence and security editor, was on the prime minister’s plane to Vilnius:
On the ground at Vilnius airport - Rishi Sunak's Voyager and Air Force One. German, French, Turkish leaders' planes all nearby pic.twitter.com/m9NFeY8nID
— Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) July 11, 2023
For more on the Nato summit, follow the Ukraine blog:
Given the attractiveness of vapes to children, what consideration has government given to banning disposable ones?
Barclay: Agrees particular concern, which is why focusing on it in call for evidence, and this is something he is considering.
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Barclay is asked whether the longer the Conservatives stay in power the longer waiting list times will be.
Barclay: “It’s the exact opposite.” The average wait in Wales is longer than in England, he says. “But we are taking action.”
An MP says a constituent has been waiting 14 months for a hysterectomy. What is being done to get waiting lists down to 18 weeks?
Barclay: Community diagnostic centres have already carried out 14m tests and scans.
Updated
Now to the Commons, where the health and social care secretary, Steve Barclay, is answering questions …
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“My trafficker is behind bars, but if the UK’s new migration bill passes, my story would have ended very differently” – a sex trafficking survivor living in the UK shares their story:
I remember the day I decided I was finally ready to report my trafficker’s abuse after the false promise of a job turned into sexual exploitation. It was September 2018, and a woman from the organisation Women at the Well, which provides support to people affected by trafficking, came out to meet me at Starbucks with a notepad.
I told her going to the police was the last thing I wanted to do. I worried about what he would do if he found out, if his other victims would be OK, whether I had broken the law and would be deported. But mostly I just wondered if anyone would believe me. My ability to trust people was almost nil: after all, my trafficker had proven to me that I shouldn’t trust anyone.
The organisation supported me to report my experiences to the police and begin the recovery process. It also referred me to the Home Office, which recognised me as a potential victim of trafficking and provided me with further assistance, including safe-house accommodation, and legal and subsistence support. Importantly, after the initial decision recognising me as the potential victim of trafficking, I was allowed to stay in the country, at least until the final decision on conclusive grounds was made.
What followed was a traumatic four and half years of going through the criminal justice system before my day in court finally came. I remember the usher saying to me: “You are the single most important person in this room right now, and without you, this trial would not be happening.” In trafficking, generally there is no prosecution without a witness. With my commitment to see justice served, a dangerous man was successfully removed from the streets and sentenced.
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Here are more details for today’s parliamentary schedule for the House of Commons:
11.30am: health and social care questions
12.30pm: statement from treasury minister Andrew Griffith on financial services
1.45pm: 10-minute rule motion on bullying and respect at work
2pm: illegal migration bill – consideration of Lords amendments
5pm: votes
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Sunak has also weighed in on inflation, which he admitted is “proving to be more persistent than people thought”. But, he insisted, this does not mean his ways of dealing with it are wrong.
I know things are difficult for many families across the country. The UK is not alone in experiencing a rise in interest rates … the crucial thing that we have to do is bring inflation down.
That’s how we’re going to ease the burden for families. That’s how we’re going to stop the rise in interest rates. And that’s why my priority is to halve inflation.
Of course, that is proving to be more persistent than people thought, but that doesn’t mean the course of action is wrong. We’ve got to stick to it.
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Rishi Sunak has now arrived in Vilnius (pictured below disembarking from the plane with the foreign secretary, James Cleverly) where Nato summit proceedings kick off today.
Defending the government’s defence investment amid suggestions the UK could lose influence as a result of the size of its army, he said:
I think the UK should be incredibly proud of the leading role that we play, not just in Nato but across the world, in protecting security and indeed in investing in our armed forces.
The summit, he said, was an opportunity to highlight the “enduring unity and importance” of the military alliance “which the UK has been at the heart of for the entire time of its existence”.
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Sunak insists his plan to stop migrants crossing the Channel 'is working', despite record numbers
Rishi Sunak has insisted that his plan to stop migrants crossing the Channel “is working” – despite record numbers.
Speaking to reporters on the plane en route to the Nato summit in Lithuania, the prime minister claimed Britain has been “making progress so far” and that he has always said crossings would increase over the summer, reports Sky News.
Friday saw the highest number of migrants arriving in Britain across the Channel in one day so far this year, with 686 people making the risky journey.
He said:
I do think the plan is working … starting to work.
You can see that most obviously with the Albanian deal we did. We came in and changed how we processed illegal migrants from Albania, signed a new deal with Albania.
We’ve returned almost 2,000 illegal migrants to Albania and you’ve seen a dramatic reduction in the number of crossings. Right. That shows me deterrence works.
This, he said, gives him “confidence that our overall strategy is the right one”. He added: “And look, we’re making progress on other aspects of our plan”.
He said:
The illegal migration bill is an important part of it, it’s making progress through parliament … [it] represents, I think, the toughest piece of legislation any government has ever put forward to tackle this problem.
He added:
I’m not going to rest until we resolve this problem. It’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to happen overnight.
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Speaking to the Treasury select committee, Charlotte Harrison, the interim chief executive of home financing at Skipton Building Society, said she expects to see even more “financial stress” for customers than previously amid high interest rates.
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The Treasury select committee is hearing evidence from senior directors at major UK banks on the mortgage market and how it is being affected by rising interest rates (see also 10.12am).
Later, at 11.30am, Steve Barclay, the health and social care secretary, and his ministers will be facing questions in the House of Commons.
And after 12.30am the Commons will consider Lords amendments of the illegal migration bill (see 9.40am).
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Priti Patel has said key pillars of the government’s flagship illegal migration bill have been abandoned as a cabinet minister insisted the government could “make real and clear progress” on stopping small-boat crossings in the Channel.
The former home secretary tweeted on Tuesday: “We were told that the illegal migration bill would ‘stop the boats’. Key pillars of that bill have now been abandoned.”
She also used her Twitter account to highlight the fact that her former department was now spending £500,000 a day on 5,000 empty hotel beds as a buffer for higher than expected numbers of migrants crossing the Channel. Officials told the Commons public accounts committee the Home Office maintains the buffer in an attempt to avoid a repeat of problems at the Manston processing centre in Kent.
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Two-year fixed mortgage rates in the UK have risen to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, adding to the pressure on households.
A typical two-year deal has risen to 6.66%, up from 6.63% on Monday, according to the data provider Moneyfacts.
It is the highest rate since 2008 – bad news for homeowners whose deals are coming to an end and who need to remortgage soon. It means they will be paying hundreds of pounds more each month.
The rise takes the cost of two-year mortgages slightly above the peak of 6.65% reached last autumn, when the borrowing market was rocked by Kwasi Kwarteng’s “mini-budget” package of unfunded tax cuts.
The average five-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.17% on Tuesday from 6.13% on Monday.
Moneyfacts said there were fewer deals available; a total of 4,344 residential mortgage products, down from 4,631 on Monday.
Savings rates have not risen as fast as mortgage rates. The average rate on an easy access savings account was unchanged on Tuesday at 2.53%.
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Suella Braverman has said she hopes the amendments to the illegal migration bill will help the “crucial” new law pass “swiftly”.
It will also, the home secretary said, “send a clear message that the exploitation of children and vulnerable people, used by criminals and ferried across the Channel, cannot continue”.
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Jeremy Hunt has responded to new ONS figures showing that unemployment has jumped above expectations to 4% in the three months to May (from 3.8% the previous quarter). Meanwhile, wages increased at the joint-highest rate on record.
The chancellor said:
Our jobs market is strong, with unemployment low by historical standards. But we still have around 1m job vacancies, pushing up inflation even further.
Our labour market reforms – including expanding free childcare next year – will help to build the high-wage, high-growth, low-inflation economy we all want to see.
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Boris Johnson has offered his congratulations to Sweden after last night’s news that Turkey has agreed to support the country’s Nato bid.
The former PM tweeeted:
Great news for Sweden and our collective security. And the right move by President Erdogan and Turkey. Now for Ukraine. https://t.co/0DDgcKL5j4
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 11, 2023
Illegal migration bill returns to Commons as PM heads to Vilnius
As Rishi Sunak set off for Lithuania for the crunch two-day Nato summit in Vilnius, back home the controversial illegal migration bill will today make a return to the House of Commons.
After taking a beating in the House of Lords – where it has been defeated no less than 20 times – last night the government was forced to announce new amendments to the proposed legislation, in what is expected to be seen as a win for Tory rebels.
Key changes include that the law will not apply retrospectively to migrants who have already crossed the Channel.
The Home Office also said it had brought in “safeguards” after being subjected to House of Lords scrutiny.
But when it comes to bans on re-entry, settlement and citizenship, the law will still apply retrospectively to those who arrived illegally on or after the date of the bill’s introduction: 7 March.
The Home Office said it would ensure the list of definitions of “serious and reversible harm” cannot be changed in secondary legislation.
Other changes include that the first tier tribunal can grant immigration bail after eight days to unaccompanied children who have been detained for the purpose of removal. This is a reduction on the proposed 28 days.
Pregnant women cannot be detained for more than 72 hours, but that period can be extended to seven days if it is authorised by a minister.
MPs will vote on the changes today and on the Lords amendments, which you can find here.
I will be looking after the politics blog today. If you have any tips or suggestions, please get in touch: miranda.bryant@theguardian.com
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