Illegal Migration Bill: Government sees off final Lords challenge

The government’s controversial Illegal Migration Bill is set to become law after the government won a final series of votes in the Lords. 

The legislation is central to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to stop small boat crossings in the English Channel. 

The bill means the home secretary has a legal duty to detain and remove anyone entering the UK illegally. 

A debate in the House of Lords saw peers reject attempts to reinsert time limits on child detention and modern slavery protections. 

The bill will now go for royal assent and become law.

The bill places a legal duty on the government to detain and remove those arriving in the UK illegally, either to Rwanda or another “safe” third country. 

But the Rwanda plan was ruled unlawful by the Court of Appeal last month, although ministers are challenging the judgement.

It’s unclear what will happen to people coming to the UK on small boats in the coming months.