The government’s controversial illegal migration bill returns for its second reading in the House of Lords today.
In a rare intervention, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is included on a list of 87 speakers and he is expected to argue against the bill.
The legislation is designed to help fulfil prime minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats” by limiting the arrival of migrants travelling on small boats to seek refuge in the UK.
In response to pressure from right-wing Conservatives MPs in the bill’s final commons stages, the bill, if passed, would now empower the home secretary to ignore rulings from the ECHR on deportations. The measure would provide ministers with “discretion” on complying with ECHR’s injunctions.
However, critics argue the flagship asylum reforms break international law, and former Conservative party leaders Theresa May and Sir Iain Duncan Smith warned in the bill’s commons stages that it threatens Britain’s modern slavery protections.
Mr Welby’s intervention today is set to be his second rebuke of the government’s treatment of asylum seekers after, in April last year, he said plans to send migrants to Rwanda were “ungodly”.
At the time, he raised “serious ethical questions” about the deportations policy and said the plan cannot “stand the judgement of God” or “carry the weight of our national responsibility as a country formed by Christian values”.
Today, the Lords will be sitting from 11am to consider the bill, with almost 90 speakers, among which is the Archbishop, listed.
In a rare parliamentary move, Liberal Democrat Lord Paddick has proposed a so-called “fatal motion” to the proposed legislation in a bid to stop the bill’s passage at its first Lords hurdle.
Lord Paddick argues that the bill would see the UK fail to meet its international law commitments, allow ministers to ignore the directions of judges and undermine “the UK’s tradition of providing sanctuary to refugees”.
However, the move would require the peer to secure significant support from the main opposition party and therefore looks destined to fail. Labour has warned the fatal motion could backfire and deny the peers the chance to amend the bill.
A Labour source has said: “We’re not supporting the motion. If successful, which they never are, the government could just Parliament Act the Bill in the next King’s Speech and peers would lose the opportunity to make any amendments.
They added: “It is therefore an irresponsible way to deal with legislation that has already gone through the elected House.”
Although two Green party peers will be among those supporting the motion, with Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb saying: “This bill is illegal because it breaks international law and should be opposed for that reason alone. It is also immoral and plain nasty.”
Writing in The Times this morning, the home secretary Suella Braverman and justice secretary Alex Chalk urged peers to “remember [the bill] is designed to meet the will of the British people in a humane and fair way, and back the bill”.
