Labour’s border bill to 'block migrants from claiming slavery protections’
Labour’s border bill to 'block migrants from claiming slavery protections’
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Sir Keir Starmer accused the previous Conservative government of ‘driving a coach and horses’ through protections for victims of trafficking. Labour’s new small boats legislation will reportedly retain a number of controversial measures the party previously opposed, including a ban on migrants claiming modern slavery protections and powers to detain children.
![[A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel (Gareth Fuller/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/13/13/0c8846a6ab563b35b7f6185796457bf9Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM2ODU4MzE3-2.78679010.jpg)
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill – set to be published on Thursday – is expected to include new counterterrorism-style powers to target people smugglers, including the seizure of mobile phones and financial assets. Sir Keir Starmer has promised to use the legislation to “smash the gangs” and significantly reduce the number of people illegally arriving in the UK, with more than a thousand people having arrived in the UK via small boat this year so far.
While Labour previously accused the Tories of trashing slavery protections through their 2023 Illegal Migration Act - which the party repeatedly voted against - the new bill will reportedly fail to reverse a number of measures included in the old bill.
According to The Times, the legislation is expected to include a ban on illegal migrants claiming protections under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, as well as powers to detain child refugees for up to 28 days. Victims of modern slavery who arrived in the UK illegally were prevented from accessing the UK’s national referral mechanism (NRM) under the last government’s legislation — the system for supporting and identifying victims.
