Theresa May has launched an astonishing attack on Suella Braverman's cruel immigration plans - which she warned will leave slavery victims trapped forever.The former Tory Prime Minister said the Home Secretary's measures will prevent traffickers being prosecuted and condemn innocent people to a life of misery.
In a scathing intervention, Mrs May trashed Ms Braverman's bid to withdraw protection under slavery laws to people who arrive in the UK illegally.
This will provide a "weapon" to traffickers and will lead to a rise in the number of people trapped in slavery in the UK, she said.
The former PM fumed: "The government will be ensuring that more people will stay enslaved and in exploitation as a result of this bill.
"It will give the traffickers another weapon to hold people in that slavery and exploitation. It will be very easy to say to them: 'Don't even think about trying to escape from the misery of your life'.
"All the UK Government will do is send you away, and probably send you to Rwanda."
Despite the anger provoked by the act, Tory MPs backed its third reading in the Commons with a majority of 289-230.
The bill - which is expected to be torn to shreds in the House of Lords - proposes removing protection under the Modern Slavery Act to people who arrive by small boats..
Mrs May - who did not vote for or against the bill - told MPs: "The Modern Slavery Act gave hope to victims. This bill removes that hope.
"I genuinely believe that if enacted as currently proposed this bill will leave more people, more men, women and children in slavery in the UK."
She told MPs: "It's a slap in the face for those of us who actually care about the victims of modern slavery and human trafficking."
The fears were echoed by ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, who said there would be "unintended consequences" - preventing traffickers being caught.
He branded the Government plans "wrong" and urged MPs to back an amendment to the Illegal Migration Bill keeping human trafficking protections in place.
He said: "We should proceed with caution when it comes to modern-day slavery. I for one am deeply proud of what we did and what (Mrs May) brought through because it deals with those who are victims, people who cannot speak for themselves that are being used and abused by others.
"We were the first country in the world to do it and others have followed suit."
He continued: "We need to send the right signals about this and I think the problem with this Bill right now is it's unnecessarily now targeting a group of people that are not the problem, themselves will suffer, and ironically we will fail as a Government through the home affairs end of it because the police simply won't be able to get those prosecutions.
"So on every grounds this is wrong and, I have to say for their new amendment 95, is a disastrous attempt to make it almost impossible for anyone to feel confident of the country before they give evidence and I really, really ask the Government before we make a decision about whether this (amendment four) is moved, to make it very clear at the end of this debate that they will take this away and they will genuinely look to see what those unintended consequences are now coming together to become."
Dame Diana Johnson, who chairs the cross-party Home Affairs Committee, referenced concerns by Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Sara Thornton.
Dame Diana said: "If a woman who had been trafficked into this country after March 7, was taken to a brothel, was repeatedly raped, but then managed to escape and seek help, would be told that there was no assistance that could be given to her and that she would be removed potentially to Rwanda.
"Is that really how we treat people like that?"
