Contributions
2,215 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSafety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillI entirely agree with my right hon. Friend.17 Jan 2024HANSARDSafety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillI know that the Minister for Countering Illegal Migration, my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Michael Tomlinson), said that he did not watch box…17 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillThe hon. Gentleman is very kind to give way a second time. I have listened to him carefully, but I have not heard an answer to one of the central questions of the debate. It is…16 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillI will not give way to the hon. Gentleman. The amendment also says there very narrow grounds on which individuals will not be put on flights, grounds that the Home Office is very…16 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillOver the Christmas period, the Labour Front Benchers anonymously briefed The Times saying that they would want to pursue an offshore processing model. Is that the position of the…16 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillMy right hon. and learned Friend is generous in giving way. With all his experience as former Justice Secretary, is it his view that the Ministry of Justice will be able to…16 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillI will not give way at the moment; let me make some more progress on explaining the amendments, if I may. The way that flights will work when the scheme commences is not under the…16 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillI will give way to the hon. Lady in a moment. As night follows day, every migrant will say, “Rwanda may be generally safe”—I believe that it is—“but it is not safe for me.” That…16 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillI will give way in a moment. When we come to those individuals who are subject to the strictures of the Illegal Migration Act, the Government’s contention is that the serious and…16 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillI have heard that argument advanced before, and of course I am proud of what we have achieved with the Albania scheme, but that is to judge two quite different propositions. The…16 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillMy right hon. and learned Friend may not be aware that after has left office the current waiting time for an appeal before an immigration tribunal is 48 weeks. Given the thousands…16 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillI will not give way again to the hon. Gentleman. Let me move forward and speak more directly to our amendments, because that is the purpose of today. The amendments tabled in my…16 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillI rise to speak in favour of the amendments in my name and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash). A single question—at least on the Conservative…16 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillLet me address that question head-on. I have known my hon. Friend for a long time—he was not born yesterday. That argument is not a plausible one, in my opinion. The argument that…16 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillOn the hon. Lady’s first point, we have had this argument many times before, and she is completely wrong. This country is one of the world’s most generous countries in supporting…16 Jan 2024HANSARD Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillIf the hon. Gentleman were right, hundreds of thousands of people would not be making that very journey every year. Millions of people in the world want to make that journey.…16 Jan 2024HANSARDIsrael and GazaAll of us abhor the loss of innocent civilian life in Israel and Gaza, but talk of a “sustainable ceasefire” is unhelpful. All it does is give succour to Israel’s enemies at the…19 Dec 2023HANSARDSafety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillI will not give way at the moment. This is proven to be correct every time, so why would we not put into the Bill a provision that says that those people cannot bring forward…12 Dec 2023HANSARDSafety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillThe decision to leave office is always a difficult one. The decision to disagree with the Prime Minister—someone I want to support in good times and bad—is always a difficult one,…12 Dec 2023HANSARDSafety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillI will give way in a moment. First, such a provision would bring legal certainty; secondly, there are operational reasons for it. I have met no one who really understands the…12 Dec 2023