House of Lords peers debate migration bill past 4am

Peers were told it was time to listen to the will of MPs and let the Government get on with “securing our borders and stopping the boats”.

Their repeated attempts to water down the legislation mean it is bouncing between the Commons and the Lords until an agreement can be reached.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said: “It’s time for the clear view of the elected House to prevail.

“We believe that inaction is not an option, that we must stop the boats, and that this Bill is a key part of our plan to do just that.”

He called for the “will of the ­democratically elected” Commons to be upheld. MPs overturned the latest changes made by peers to the Illegal Migration Bill in a series of votes last night.

The legislation was sent back to the House of Lords again, where peers debated it further.

They want concessions on limits on the detention of children, modern slavery protections and the provision of safe and legal routes for refugees to the UK.

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The Government hopes it will finally pass today, but has set aside time on Wednesday – in case peers continue to object – in the hope of the Bill gaining royal assent before MPs leave for the summer break on Thursday.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has been one of the most vocal critics of the Bill in the Lords, condemning it as “morally unacceptable and politically impractical”. He was behind one of the amendments that MPs rejected last night.

Mr Jenrick said the archbishop’s attempt to change the Bill “remains unnecessary”.

He added: “As I have said to his grace, if the Church wishes to play a further role in resettlement, then it could join our community sponsorship scheme, which is an ongoing and safe and legal route, which as far as I’m aware, the Church of England is not ­currently engaged with.”

Tory Sir John Hayes said the Bill is about “fairness” and is what the British people voted for at the last general election.

Sir John said he was “struck by the absence of a credible alternative” in the many hours of debate in the House of Lords.

He added: “There seems little sense there of the need to control our borders, stop the boats, save lives and make our own immigration system fairer, more reasonable and just.

“Indeed, sadly much of the debate has been characterised by denial and detachment from the popular will.

“Let’s have less sanctimony and more common sense, less self-righteousness and more selfless commitment to the people’s will. Less soul-searching and more heart-felt advocacy for the interests of hard-working, law abiding, decent, patriotic Britons who support this Bill.”

But peers claimed they are victims of a “punishment beating” by the Government for challenging the legislation.

The latest round of parliamentary ping-pong, where the legislation is batted between the Lords and the Commons until agreement is finally reached, has been criticised by some peers.

It has seen the upper chamber, which ordinarily rises at 10pm, sitting until the early hours to debate the Bill, with one session reportedly continuing until dawn.

Labour peer Lord Harris of Haringey said: “Is it not the case that the way that this is being structured is like almost a sort of punishment beating for the House of Lords for daring to question a particular piece of legislation?”

Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh warned that even though the Bill is expected to become law this week he had a “horrible feeling at this time next year we will be in exactly the same position”.

Sir Edward also raised questions about the future of the House of Lords. He said: “There’s no point having these endless debates about whether it should be elected or not, it should be a proper revising chamber. It seems to me that the House of Lords, when it is given a Bill like this, their attitude should be, ‘How can we improve it?’”

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