May claims government"s illegal migration bill will lead to more people being consigned to modern slavery May said not all modern slavery victims wanted to stay in the UK. The bill as drafted implied that slavery was secondary to immigration status, she said. She said modern slavery was the greatest human rights issue of our times. And this bill would consign more people to slavery, she said. It would give another tool to traffickers wanting hold people in slavery, because if people tried to escape, traffickers would find it easy to say: “Don’t even think about trying to escape from the misery of your life, from the suffering we are subjecting you to – all the UK government will do is send you away and probably send you to Rwanda.” UPDATE: May said: Modern slavery is the greatest human rights issue of our time. The approach in this bill, I believe, will have several ramifications. I believe it will consign victims to remain in slavery. The government will be ensuring that more people will stay enslaved and in exploitation as a result of this bill because it will give the slavedrivers, it will give the traffickers, another weapon to hold people in that slavery and exploitation, because it’ll be very easy to say to them, ‘Don’t even think about trying to escape from the misery of your life, from the suffering we’re subjecting you to because all the UK government will do is send you away and probably send you to Rwanda’. The Modern Slavery Act gave hope to victims, this bill removes that hope. I genuinely believe that, if enacted as it is currently proposed, this bill will leave more people, more men, women and children, in slavery in the UK. This blog is now closing, thanks for following. You can read our full report here: MPs back illegal migration bill by 289 votes to 230 A summary of today"s developments Suella Braverman failed to offer statistical evidence to back her claim that migrants crossing the English Channel are linked to “heightened levels of criminality” as the government’s immigration legislation cleared the Commons. The home secretary said people arriving in the UK in small boats have values which are “at odds with our country” ahead of MPs debating the Illegal Migration Bill. Asked later whether she had figures to support the statement, she said it was based on information she had gathered from police chiefs. It came as senior backbench Tories, including former prime minister Theresa May and ex-party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, voiced concerns in Parliament about the impact the Government’s flagship immigration reforms could have on modern slavery protections. But the Bill cleared the House of Commons without any drama in the votes after MPs gave it a third reading by 289 votes to 230, majority 59. The five amendments to the Bill were rejected in votes by MPs. The government suffered a fourth defeat on its Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill, after peers argued it had no right to legislate for Scotland and Wales on devolved matters like health and education. The House of Lords voted by 213 to 184, majority 29, to restrict the provisions of the Bill to England only. The crossbench amendment was backed by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Department of Health officials “raised concerns” about Steve Barclay’s alleged conduct towards civil servants, the Guardian has been told. Sources said the civil servants had informally complained to Chris Wormald, the department’s permanent secretary, about the way they believe they and colleagues have been treated by the health secretary. They said senior civil servants in the department had privately referred to “bullying” and other “bad behaviour” by Barclay towards his staff since he joined the Whitehall department in July last year. The alleged conduct is denied by Barclay’s allies. The department said it had not received any formal complaints over the behaviour of its ministers, but did not deny being alerted to concerns informally in the way sources described. Lee Anderson, the deputy Conservative chair, and a member of the Commons home affairs committee, questioned Sir Mark Rowley, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police. They clashed on various issues, and Rowley told Anderson he was being “offensive” after Anderson said the Met would be better off without him. Andrew Bridgen MP has been expelled from the Conservative party. The Conservatives suspended Bridgen in January for spreading misinformation about Covid vaccines and comparing their impact to the Holocaust. More than 400 workers from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will go on strike for 18 days in May and June. The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union said 432 of its members working as customer service advisers in Glasgow and Newcastle-upon-Tyne will walk out on May 10-12, 15-19, 22-26, 29-31 and June 1-2. The announcement came amid a dispute over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy between the PCS and the Government. Suella Braverman has failed to offer statistical evidence to back her claim that migrants crossing the English Channel are linked to “heightened levels of criminality” as the Government’s immigration legislation cleared the Commons. The Home Secretary said people arriving in the UK in small boats have values which are “at odds with our country” ahead of MPs debating the Illegal Migration Bill. Asked later whether she had figures to support the statement, she said it was based on information she had gathered from police chiefs. It came as senior backbench Tories, including former prime minister Theresa May and ex-party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, voiced concerns in Parliament about the impact the Government’s flagship immigration reforms could have on modern slavery protections. But the Bill cleared the House of Commons without any drama in the votes after MPs gave it a third reading by 289 votes to 230, majority 59. “I think that the people coming here illegally do possess values which are at odds with our country,” the Home Secretary said earlier. At an event later in Westminster, she added: “Not in all cases, but it is becoming a notable feature of everyday crime-fighting in England and Wales. “Many people are coming here illegally and they’re getting very quickly involved in the drugs trade, in other forms of exploitation.” Asked whether that claim was based on empirical evidence, she said: “I consider police chiefs experts in their field and authoritative sources of information.” Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, said: “Suella Braverman’s dog-whistle remarks about the ‘values’ of migrants being ‘at odds’ with British ‘norms’ are appallingly divisive and shamelessly intended to stoke fear and hatred of people seeking refuge in this country.” Commenting on peers voting to stop frontline workers being sacked for exercising their right to strike, the TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, said: “No one should be sacked for trying to win a better deal at work. “That’s why peers have done the right thing and voted to stop nurses, teachers, firefighters and other public sector workers getting sacked for exercising their right to strike. “Lords, MPs and rights groups are queueing up to condemn this spiteful bill. “Now it’s time for an urgent rethink – the government must ditch this draconian bill for good and protect the right to strike.” Here are more details on the controversial strikes law aimed at curbing the impact of walkouts on key services, which has suffered numerous defeats in the House of Lords. The government setbacks in the House of Lords to the Strikes (Minimum Services Levels) bill sets the stage for a showdown between the unelected chamber and the Commons – where the administration has a majority – known as parliamentary ping-pong. Labour has promised to repeal the law if it takes office. One of the key changes made to the bill by peers was a measure that would ensure that staff who fail to comply with a work notice on strike days do not face the sack or disciplinary action. The Lords also backed ditching part of the legislation that would strip protections from unions and to limit it to England only, with concerns it would infringe on services devolved to Wales and Scotland. In addition, peers demanded consultation before the use of key ministerial powers to specify minimum services levels, including the involvement of parliament. Criticising the power to “requisition” people to work or face losing their job, former TUC general secretary Baroness O’Grady of Upper Holloway said: “Most right-minded people find that disproportionate, dictatorial and fundamentally unfair.” Government minister Lord Callanan said the aim of the changes proposed was an “attempt to disrupt the balance between the ability to strike with the rights and freedoms of others to go about their lawful business which is ultimately at the heart of this bill”. Responding to the Guardian’s story that officials in the Department of Health and Social Care have “raised concerns” about secretary of state Steve Barclay’s behaviour, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for health and social care, Daisy Cooper, said: “This government hasn’t got a shred of integrity left. Each day we see more chaos, more sleaze and more scandal. “These latest reports are deeply disturbing and must be investigated immediately by the Cabinet Office. Britain has had enough of bullies running the country. “Steve Barclay now joins a long list of Conservative ministers to have allegations made against them for inappropriate behaviour. “These latest reports cannot be brushed under the carpet by Rishi Sunak – he must launch an investigation immediately. No staff should ever be subjected to working with or for a bully.” A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The department has not received any formal complaints relating to the behaviour of its ministers. Any complaints relating to ministers or members of staff would be investigated in line with departmental guidance.” Illegal Migration Bill passes to House of Lords MPs have voted to accept the Illegal Migration Bill at third reading, by 289 votes to 230. A majority of 59. MPs have voted to reject the amendment by 231 votes to 286 – a majority of 55. MPs are now voting on Page 14, Amendment 2 to the Illegal Migration Bill, which exempts unaccompanied children, people with at least one dependant child and pregnant women from certain measures and sanctions in the Bill. Away from the Illegal Migration Bill for a moment, the government suffered a fourth defeat on its Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill, after peers argued it had no right to legislate for Scotland and Wales on devolved matters like health and education. The House of Lords voted by 213 to 184, majority 29, to restrict the provisions of the Bill to England only. The crossbench amendment was backed by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. MPs have voted to reject the amendment by 231 votes to 290 – a majority of 59. MPs are now voting on Amendment 45, an SNP amendment which would compel the Bill to be compatible with numerous conventions including the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Action Against Trafficking