Ministers have pledged to only detain refugee children in “exceptional circumstances” under a new asylum bill after threats of a rebellion from backbench Conservative MPs.
The Home Office confirmed it would put forward a further amendment to the illegal migration bill limiting the amount of time an unaccompanied child can be held.
The confirmation came after anger from the Tory left and a push by a cross-party group of backbench MPs for unaccompanied minors, families and dependent children to be excluded from the bill’s provisions.
MPs from the right of the Conservative party successfully lobbied Rishi Sunak last week to harden the proposed legislation, allowing a home secretary to ignore rulings from the European court of human rights under certain circumstances.
An analysis by the Refugee Council and Barnardo’s said nearly 15,000 refugee children separated from their families could be detained in the first three years after the law came into effect.
Minors would be banned from remaining in the UK as refugees when they turn 18, the charities said.
The bill will return to the Commons on Wednesday, with continuing pressure upon the home secretary, Suella Braverman, to make changes that will win over both wings of the Tory party.
Asked whether up to 15,000 refugee children could be held and deported in the first three years after the bill became law, a Home Office spokesperson said: “While this legislation gives the home secretary the power to remove an unaccompanied child under 18, the government is amending the bill to make clear that this power will only be exercised in very limited circumstances, such as for the purposes of family reunion or removing someone to their safe home country.
“A further amendment will address concerns about the detention of unaccompanied children by making clear that an unaccompanied child can only be detained in exceptional circumstances, with specific time limits, as set out in regulations.”
Figures released by the charities showed there were 5,242 asylum applications from unaccompanied children in 2022, 20% more than the previous year and accounting for 7% of the total for all aged groups.
According to a Refugee Council impact assessment based on projections of government figures, 13,089-14,935 unaccompanied children and 26,483-30,218 minors with family members will have their asylum claims deemed inadmissible in the first three years of the legislation came into force.
The Home Office confirmed a further 497 people crossed the Channel on Saturday in 11 boats. This brings the total so far this year to 5,546.
Oliver Dowden, the newly appointed deputy prime minister, said on Sunday it was “right” for the home secretary to have discretional powers when considering interventions from the ECHR.
However, he said the ability for Britain to block Strasbourg judges’ rulings would not apply to all its verdicts, telling Sky News: “I’m not saying that will give the home secretary carte blanche to overrule rulings.
“What I would say is that we are engaging very closely with the European court, we are making very good progress.”
The move has angered some Tories, with the chair of thje justice select committee, Sir Bob Neill, saying he was not able to support the bill as it stood.
He told Times Radio: “First of all, I don’t think it’s right for us to be saying that we will ignore rules of the European court of human rights, even the interim measures.”
Neill said the way rule 39 measures operate was not satisfactory and that “judicial dialogue” was the way forward.
“I’d rather do the sensible reform, rather than get into a confrontation,” he added.
