LONDON: The UK government watered down some parts of its controversial immigration legislation on Tuesday in a bid to get the bill through Parliament.
The Illegal Migration Bill, once passed, would require officials to detain and deport people who cross the English Channel to Britain in small boats
The Conservative government has pledged to “stop the boats” — a reference to the overcrowded dinghies and other small craft that cross from northern France carrying migrants who hope to live in the UK More than 45,000 people arrived in Britain by crossing the Channel in this way in 2022; several died in the attempt.
The bill has been approved by the House of Commons, where the governing Conservatives have a majority, but faced strong opposition in the unelected House of Lords, which has the power to amend but not block legislation.
The Lords sent the bill back to the House of Commons with 20 amendments removing some of its most severe measures.
The government made some concessions to opponents, taking out a clause that would have made deportation apply to people who arrived even before the bill became law. The government also reduced the time unaccompanied minors can be held in immigration detention from 28 to eight days.
But ministers want the Commons to undo most of the Lords’ changes before returning the bill to the upper house in a process known as “parliamentary ping-pong.”
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said the Lords should “think again” and respect the will of elected lawmakers.
“It’s vital that this bill reaches the statute book quickly, and in a form that will stop the boats,” he said.
The legislation bars asylum claims by anyone who reaches the UK by unauthorized means, compelling officials to detain and then deport refugees and migrants “to their home country or a safe third country,” such as Rwanda. Once deported, they would be banned from ever re-entering the UK
Britain’s government says the law will deter people from making perilous journeys across the Channel and break the business model of the criminal gangs behind the trips.
Critics say it would leave most refugees and victims of modern slavery with no way of seeking asylum in Britain and breaches the UK’s international human rights obligations.
Even if it is passed into law, the deportation plan faces serious obstacles. The UK and Rwanda signed a deal last year for asylum-seekers to be sent permanently from Britain to the East African country, but last month the Court of Appeal ruled it was illegal. The government is seeking to appeal to the UK Supreme Court.
The immigration spokesman for the opposition Labour Party, Stephen Kinnock, said the bill was “a tawdry and deeply counterproductive attempt to show the government is doing something, anything” about a system that is overburdened by a backlog of thousands of asylum-seekers waiting months or years to have their cases heard.
“This bill will only make a terrible situation worse,” he said.
The UK government is in a face-off with the House of Lords over its contentious migration bill
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The UK government is in a face-off with the House of Lords over its contentious migration bill
- House of Lords sent the bill back with 20 amendments removing some of its most severe measures
IAEA board meets over Ukraine nuclear safety concerns
- The war in Ukraine “continues to pose the world’s biggest threat to nuclear safety,” Grossi said
- The mission will assess 10 substations “crucial to nuclear safety,” according to Grossi
VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors on Friday discussed nuclear safety in Ukraine, with several countries expressing “growing concern” following Russian attacks on the power grid.
Energy supplies to Ukraine’s nuclear plants have been affected as Russia has pounded its neighbor’s power sector since the start of its 2022 invasion, prompting fears of a nuclear disaster.
The war in Ukraine “continues to pose the world’s biggest threat to nuclear safety,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said when opening the board meeting.
The extraordinary meeting that lasted four hours was called after 13 countries led by the Netherlands expressed in a letter seen by AFP a “growing concern about the severity and urgency of nuclear safety risks” following a series of attacks.
Ukrainian ambassador Yurii Vitrenko told reporters before the meeting that it was “high time” for the IAEA board to discuss the situation.
A weeks-long IAEA expert mission to Ukrainian substations and power plants is under way and expected to wrap up next month, Vitrenko said.
The mission will assess 10 substations “crucial to nuclear safety,” according to Grossi.
Russian Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov dismissed the board’s gathering as “absolutely politically motivated,” adding there was “no real need to hold such a meeting today.”
Last week, Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant temporarily lost all off-site power.
Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, occupied by Russian forces since March 2022, has also been repeatedly affected by fighting.
Earlier this month, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a localized ceasefire to allow repairs on the last remaining backup power line supplying Zaporizhzhia.
The line was damaged and disconnected as a result of military activity in early January.
The Zaporizhzhia plant’s six reactors have been shut down since the occupation. But the site still needs electricity to maintain its cooling and security systems.
Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of risking a nuclear catastrophe by attacking the site.
