A LAST-DITCH bid to give MPs a chance to properly interrogate a “draconian” bill being "rail-roaded" through parliament to crack down on asylum seekers has failed.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, tried to use Commons rules to hold an emergency debate on the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill.
The legislation has been fast-tracked through parliament and Flynn argued that MPs had not been given a real chance to debate and scrutinise the legislation.
But the Speaker said he did not believe the rules did not allow for an emergency debate and did not give a reason for his decision, saying he was not allowed to under the parliamentary regulations.
Flynn said: “Isn’t it astonishing that when this house voted to inflict Brexit, the economic damage of Brexit upon this United Kingdom, they did so on the premise of ‘taking back control’.
“But where is ‘taking back control’ when it comes to the Illegal Migration Bill? Because at the previous reading there was in excess of 300 amendments and around 30 or so new clauses and members of this house, democratically elected members of this were given just 12 hours to consider them.
“Now today, there’s around 189 amendments and in excess of 20 new clauses and there’s going to be less than six hours for democratically elected members of this house to scrutinise the legislation in front of them.”
He said the Home Affairs Committee had not been given a chance to examine the bill and that the Joint Committee on Human Rights had not been given enough time to publish a report on the bill to inform MPs’ decisions on the bill.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman had also failed to meet with the committee, said Flynn, adding: “What was she running scared of?”
He added: “Right across the board, this government has sought to railroad this deplorable, disgusting through the House of Commons.
“And why is that important? It is important because this doesn’t just effect adults and children, it affects asylum seekers and refugees and indeed those who’ve been the victim of trafficking.
“Now it’s quite clear that this bill would breach the UN Convention on Refugees and there is significant concern across the house and in wider civil society about its ability to align with the [European Convention on Human Rights], too.
“That should concern everyone in this house, that should concern everyone across the UK, not just because of the legal impact of that – but because of the reputational damage that this UK Government here in Westminster is seeking to undo.
“They are seeking to do the unforgivable, to impose their draconian, dreadful views on some of the most vulnerable people in society.
“We will continue to oppose this bill in every way, shape and form that we can and I sincerely hope that the House of Lords […] I hope that they are able to grow a backbone and throw the bill out in its entirety.”
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle rejected the SNP's plea, saying he was “not persuaded” the rules to allow an emergency debate applied to the bill in question.
He added: “The standing order precludes me from giving reasons for my decision to the house.
“However, I do wish to make clear that I found the merits in this application. I sympathise with members trying to scrutinise a very large number of amendments to an already densely drafted bill.”
