'Don't let woke lefty lawyers scupper immigration plan' MP tells Sunak
A Black Country MP has urged the Prime Minister to force through tough his new immigration plan even if "woke lefty lawyers" attempt to scupper it.
Marco Longhi MP said he welcomed Rishi Sunak's "renewed focus" to crack down on migrants who "cheat" to get to Britain.
But he said it was crucial that the Prime Minister showed the "political will" to push it through in the face of interventions by the judiciary or human rights lawyers.
Mr Sunak's five-point plan, unveiled this week, includes a new deal to fast-track deportations of Albanian migrants, a pledge to "abolish" a backlog of more than 92,000 asylum claims by the end of next year and a new "small boats command" to stem the surge across the Channel.
Dudley North Conservative MP Mr Longhi – who has previously accused the Government of a lack of action on illegal immigration – said the plan showed a "strong commitment" to dealing with the issue.
He said: "I’ll support the Government but I want to see things happen rather than see more legislation scuppered by woke lefty lawyers."
Mr Longhi raised the issue directly with the PM in the Commons, asking: "If the Prime Minister’s future legislation is indeed scuppered by an intervention by the judiciary or human rights activists’ lawyers, will he have the political will to still force it through and implement what he intends to do?"
Mr Sunak said Mr Longhi was "right that we need to go further", adding: "That is why our legislation will make it unequivocally clear that those who come here illegally have no right to stay, and his communities should be confident that that is what this Government will deliver."
It comes after former PM Boris Johnson's flagship plan to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda was thwarted following the intervention of lawyers.
The new measures have also been welcomed by Stourbridge MP Suzanne Webb, who said immigration was a "major area of concern" for her constituents.
She said: "I accept this is a complex issue and no one measure will be the silver bullet to solve it. We need co-operation and working with the Albanian government to send illegal immigrants back will help.
"Significantly raising the threshold for someone to be referred to the modern slavery system is also welcome. This law is being grossly abused.
"But the major card to play here is a change in the law. Most people will support legislation making it clear that if someone comes here illegally, they should not be able to remain and they should be quickly detained and removed.
"That is a move I will fully support when it comes before parliament. However, this time it must work and not get bogged down in the courts."
Mr Sunak's announcement came before four people died when a vessel ran into difficulties 30 miles west of Dover.
Almost 45,000 immigrants have crossed the Channel to the UK on small boats this year.
