Rishi Sunak faces Keir Starmer in latest PMQs
PM Rishi Sunak will face off against Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer in the latest edition of Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), with the government’s controversial new plans to deal with illegal channel crossings set to dominate the session.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced the Illegal Migration Bill on Tuesday. The bill would mean asylum seekers arriving in the UK illegally will be detained without bail or judicial review for 28 days before being “swiftly removed” to their home country or a “safe third country” such as Rwanda.
The PM has said he is “up for the fight” against those opposed to the policy – which has been widely and internationally condemned.
What time is PMQs today?
PMQs starts at its usual time of 12 noon in the House of Commons.
You’ll be able to watch it on a live stream on this page, while it is also broadcast live on the UK Parliament YouTube channel.
What can you expect from PMQs?
The controversial bill will undoubtedly be top of the agenda as the PM is set to be challenged over how the legislation will work in practice and how it might stand up to the expected legal challenges.
The PM has already stated that he is “confident” the government will win the legal battles over the measures.
Labour has described the proposed policy as a “con” that was no more likely to be successful than prior Tory efforts to tackle the migration crisis.
In a letter to Tory MPs, Suella Braverman said there is more than a 50 per cent chance the legislation may not be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The controversial bill
The bill means asylum seekers arriving in the UK illegally will face a lifetime ban on returning once deported and will never be allowed to settle in the UK or gain citizenship.
The Bill’s feasibility has been questioned as plans such as forcibly removing asylum seekers to Rwanda are mired in legal challenges.
Mr Sunak told a Downing Street press conference that migrants arriving in the UK illegally will be removed “within weeks” and that the Bill will apply “retrospectively” if passed.
The UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR, said it was “profoundly concerned” by the Bill and that, if passed, it will amount to an “asylum ban”.
