New UK Illegal Migration Bill passes the Commons

The government's new Illegal Migration Bill passed the House of Commons on Wednesday after MPs gave it a third reading.

The bill, which passed 289 votes to 230, will change the law so that people who arrive in the UK illegally will be detained and then promptly removed, either to their home country or a safe third country such as Rwanda.

Critics of the bill have dismissed the proposed legislation as unworkable, while right-wing Tory MPs believe it does not go far enough.

Other Tories want greater protections for minors and victims of human trafficking.

Ministers have already given in to some demands to avoid potential revolts, with a series of government amendments approved in the Commons.

The government was unable to say whether the legislation complies with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Although the bill has cleared the Commons, it will face a stiff test in the Lords, where it will undergo further scrutiny.

Senior backbench Tories, including former prime minister Theresa May and ex-party leader Iain Duncan Smith, voiced concerns about the impact the government's flagship immigration reforms could have on modern slavery protections.

UK government unveils 'robust' bill to stop migrant Channel crossings — in pictures

The UK's Home Secretary Suella Braverman has unveiled new legislation to address small boats carrying migrants across the English Channel. AFP

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled the plans for new laws to curb crossings. PA

Migrants housed at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent. Almost 3,000 migrants have made unauthorised crossings of the English Channel this year. PA

Ms Braverman said not responding to the problem would be to 'betray the will of the people we were elected to serve'. AFP

Mr Sunak met teams at the Home Office Joint Control Room in Dover, Kent. Getty Images

Critics have warned that the proposals are 'unworkable' and will leave thousands of migrants in limbo by banning them from claiming British citizenship. PA

Inflatable dinghies and outboard engines, stored in a Port Authority yard in Dover. AFP

People gather in central Dover to attend a 'Refugees Welcome' rally. AFP

Ms Braverman said the UK's asylum system has been 'overwhelmed', with almost £7 million ($8.4 million) a day being spent on hotels to house people while their claims are processed. PA

Ms May warned that it would leave more people in slavery in the UK, calling it a “slap in the face” for anyone who cares about victims of human trafficking.

“Modern slavery is the greatest human rights issue of our time. The approach in this bill, I believe, will have several ramifications,” she told the Commons.

“I believe it will consign victims to remain in slavery.”

Mr Duncan Smith said: “We need to send the right signals about this and I think the problem with this bill right now is it's unnecessarily now targeting a group of people that are not the problem, themselves will suffer, and ironically we will fail as a government through the home affairs end of it because the police simply won't be able to get those prosecutions.”

Earlier, Home Secretary Suella Braverman failed to offer statistical evidence to back her claim that migrants crossing the English Channel are linked to “heightened levels of criminality”.

She said people arriving in the UK in small boats have values which are “at odds with our country” before MPs debated the bill.

Asked later whether she had figures to support the statement, she said it was based on information she had gathered from police.

How is Europe clamping down on people who help refugees? — video

“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.”

Labour condemned Ms Braverman's comments about migrants' values, with a spokesman calling it the “sort of invective” that signals that the policies being promoted “have failed”.

Campaigners accused her of fanning the flames of xenophobia and racism.

“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,” said Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK's refugee and migrant rights director.

“No one should suffer such blatant exposure to prejudice and hostility, especially not in the form of highly insensitive remarks from the Home Secretary.

“The government's draconian asylum legislation is already set to tear apart legal protections in this country for refugees, victims of human trafficking and many other people, while Suella Braverman continues pouring petrol on a xenophobic and racist fire they themselves have lit.”

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Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme

Priority access to new homes from participating developers
Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
Flexible payment plans from developers
Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates

US tops drug cost charts

The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.

Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.

In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.

Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.

The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.

High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.

As You Were

Liam Gallagher

(Warner Bros)

Everything Now

Arcade Fire

(Columbia Records)

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative

Company profile

Name: Infinite8

Based: Dubai

Launch year: 2017

Number of employees: 90

Sector: Online gaming industry

Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor

The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos

Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

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TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)

What is THAAD?

It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.

Production:

It was created in 2008.

Speed:

THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.

Abilities:

THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".

Purpose:

To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.

Range:

THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.

Creators:

Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.

UAE and THAAD:

In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.