Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman have been heckled over their small boats crackdown and told to “go away” during a walkabout in an Essex town centre.
The prime minister and home secretary were berated as they walked down Chelmsford high street with three police officers ahead of the launch of an anti-social behaviour drive.
One woman shouted “allow migrants into our country” and “refugees deserve sanctuary in Britain”.
She also said: “Go away. We don’t want you here.”
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Neither of the politicians reacted to the heckling and continued their conversations with the police officers.
The walk lasted little more than five minutes before Mr Sunak was driven to Chelmsford Boxing Club, where he spoke about his anti-social behaviour action plan and took questions from an assembled crowd.
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The controversial legislation designed to put a stop to migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats returns to the House of Commons for its committee stage on Monday, with Downing Street facing objections to the bill from both the liberal and the right wings of the Conservative Party.
However, a potentially damaging Tory rebellion aimed at toughening up the plans has been put on hold after those calling for the changes agreed not to force a vote on the issue amid talks with Ms Braverman.
It was thought as many as 60 Conservative MPs could back amendments seeking to block courts from preventing the removal of migrants.
In an article for Conservative Home, MPs Danny Kruger, Simon Clarke, and Jonathan Gullis said they had been “encouraged by assurances that the government will give proper consideration to our concerns ahead of the bill’s report stage”.
“On the expectation of receiving this commitment from ministers in Parliament today, we will not be pushing our amendments to a vote this week,” they said.
Tory rebels set out tests for the migration bill
The rebel MPs set out four tests they want the illegal migration bill to meet to “retain our confidence”.
These include precluding the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) from blocking Rwanda deportation flights and addressing sections of the Human Rights Act that could “tie up the government in months of litigation”.
They also want the bill to appropriately limit challenges against removals and ensure that those who are removed can’t return to the UK.
The three MPs also called on Mr Sunak to “bring forward plans on safe and legal routes”, though this did not form one of their tests.
This is something Conservatives on the liberal wing of the party, alongside Opposition MPs, have also been calling for to reduce the number of people making dangerous journeys across the Channel.
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But Downing Street has indicated ministers will resist pressure to do this.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “It is true that we do want to create more safe and legal routes but the view remains that in order to do that we first need to get a grip on those crossing illegally so we can plan and make a proper decision about the numbers of people the country, local authorities, councils, GPs, are able to deal with each year.”
Braverman ‘not a right-wing sock puppet’
The spokesman said ministers will continue to speak to Tory MPs seeking to strengthen the bill.
And they denied suggestions Ms Braverman was a “right-wing sock puppet” by Tory rebels who wanted ministers to be able ignore initial rulings by judges at Strasbourg.
“Both the prime minister and the home secretary have been clear that this bill will comply with international law and stop the boats,” the spokesman said.
The illegal immigration bill aims to fulfil Mr Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats” by banning people from claiming asylum if they have entered the UK by unauthorised means.
It will allow migrants who arrive by small boat to 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 plans have been at the centre of controversy, with critics including the UN and EU warning the UK is falling foul of its international obligations.
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But Conservative MPs on the right of the party have signalled that it does not go far enough in limiting the power of courts to intervene, after the ECHR was able to block the Rwanda deportation scheme from taking off last year.
Speaking during the visit to Essex, Mr Sunak said he was confident they had designed a bill that was “robust and effective” while remaining compliant with the UK’s obligations under international law.
“The home secretary and I have worked incredibly closely for the last two months to get the legislation exactly right,” he said.
“This is a tough piece of legislation, the likes of which we haven’t seen. It’s important that it is effective, which it will be.
“It is also important that we abide by our international obligations. This is a country and government that does follow the law.”
