No-one who has concern for their fellow human beings should back the UK Government’s Illegal Migration Bill, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman this week outlined plans to prevent anyone who comes to the UK through illegal means from staying in the country.
The move was immediately denounced by politicians within and outside the UK, with the UN’s refugee agency claiming it amounts to an effective “asylum ban”.
On Thursday, outgoing Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon weighed into the controversy, saying the Scottish Government would “never support” such a Bill.
During First Minister’s Questions, she said: “Let’s be clear – the UK Government’s Illegal Migration Bill sets out a clear intention to remove the right to seek refugee protection in the United Kingdom, it is utterly shameful and immoral.
“All of us, without exception, should be appalled that the Home Secretary should introduce such a Bill, a Bill that she knows doesn’t comply with the Human Rights Act, a Bill which adds to the damage already inflicted on the UK’s reputation as a place of refuge, the UK’s credibility with international partners and the ability to meet responsibilities under the refugee convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.
“It is a Bill that this Government does not support, will never support, and nobody who has any concern for our fellow human beings should ever support such an appalling piece of draft legislation.”
The First Minister also hit out at the opposition, adding: “I can still remember a day when Labour would have opposed it tooth and nail in principle and not in the mealy-mouthed way that it has been doing.”
