A human rights expert has called on MPs and peers to block Rishi Sunak’s controversial migrant crackdown.
In a damning letter, Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, said the Illegal Migration Bill “would have serious consequences both for the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants”.
The bill - which the government has admitted may break international law - would give ministers the power to deport anyone who comes to the UK illegally and ban them from returning.
Some Tory MPs want it to be made even tougher to allow the government to ignore rulings by European judges if they try to block its effect.
In his letter to the speakers of the House of Commons and House of Lords, Mijatović said the legislation would be a hammer blow to the global human rights system.
And he warned it could be used by other countries to ditch their own international obligations.
He said: “Ensuring access to asylum procedures is a key component of the system of human rights protection in Europe and beyond.
“Regardless of the manner of their arrival, people who may be in need of protection must have an opportunity to put their claim forward and have it fairly assessed.
“By effectively preventing people arriving irregularly from having their asylum claims assessed, the Bill would strip away one of the essential building blocks of the protection system.
“Through this and other measures, the Bill would, in my view, add to the already significant regression of the protection of the human rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants of which I warned in the recent report following my visit to the United Kingdom.
“In the process, it would also provide an incentive to other states, in Europe and beyond, to follow the UK’s lead in evading and abdicating its responsibilities to people in need of protection.”
Mijatović said he was “especially concerned” that the bill would allow the detention of children.
“It would reverse the UK’s progress in reducing the number of children in immigration detention, a practice that is widely recognised as being extremely harmful,” he said.
He went on: “In short, my assessment is that the Bill would have serious consequences both for the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in the UK, and for the upholding of the UK’s international obligations more generally.”
And in a direct appeal to politicians, he said: “It is now essential that members of Parliament and peers prevent legislation that is incompatible with the UK’s international obligations being passed.”
His comments come after former chancellor George Osborne said it would be a “disaster” for the Tories if they were to take the UK out of the ECHR.
The PM’s official spokesman said: “Both the prime minister and the home secretary have consistently been clear this bill will comply with international law and stop the boats.”
He said the bill had been “carefully designed to stand up to legal challenge”.
“We are confident it is the right approach,” he added.