More Than 50 Conservative MPs Demand Change to UK Modern Slavery Law

Detainees inside the Manston short-term holding centre for illegal immigrants wave to members of the media outside, near Ramsgate, Kent, southeast England, on Nov. 3, 2022. (Daniel Leal /AFP via Getty Images)

More than 50 Conservative MPs have signed a letter to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak demanding emergency legislation be introduced to amend modern slavery laws which they say are being abused by illegal immigrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.

The English Channel crossings are a “Gordian Knot that needs cutting with a simple policy,” according to the letter, which was organised by former Brexit secretary David Davis.

On Oct. 26, Dan O’Mahoney, the Home Office’s clandestine Channel threat commander, told the Home Affairs Committee that 12,000 Albanian migrants had crossed the Channel this year, up from 800 in 2021.

Under the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), people who claim to have been the victims of trafficking or modern slavery can’t be deported until their claim has been investigated.

Home Office figures released earlier this month showed that 91 percent of Albanians who claimed to be the victims of modern slavery when they arrived in Britain after crossing the Channel have been allowed to stay in the country pending a full investigation of their claims by the Home Office.

The letter sent by Tory MPs demands that “economic migrants” travelling from countries such as Albania, where there is no conflict or persecution, are returned immediately.

Among those who have signed the letter are former Cabinet ministers Liam Fox and Esther McVey, Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee, and veteran backbencher Sir Peter Bottomley.

Sunak was urged by the signatories to implement a simple change in the law which they believe would make it easier for “bogus asylum seekers” to be returned, even if they claim to be victims of trafficking.

A deal was struck with the government in Tirana in August but, giving evidence to the Home Affairs Committee last week, O'Mahoney couldn’t say how many Albanian police officers had been posted to Britain to assist with tackling human-trafficking gangs, which often advertise on TikTok.

“We have failed to control our borders, yes,” Home Secretary Suella Braverman told the committee. “That’s why the prime minister and myself are absolutely determined to fix this problem.”

The signatories of the letter say “people claiming they have been unwilling victims of human trafficking or modern slavery” should be sent back to their home countries.

“If they have really been taken against their will, then they could not reasonably object to being returned to their own homes,” the letter adds.

Letter Blames ‘Quirks’ in Modern Slavery Law

“The quirks in our modern slavery laws that prevent this are clearly in defiance of the aims of that law and should be removed,” the letter states.

Braverman’s predecessor, Priti Patel, signed a deal with Rwanda this year that would have meant illegal immigrants who crossed the English Channel would be sent to the east African country while their claims were processed.

While it was meant as a deterrent to stop the flow of migrants, the policy is currently suspended while awaiting legal rulings.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman arrives in Downing Street ahead of the first Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, on Oct. 26, 2022. (Victoria Jones/PA Media)

But the letter writers say a “straightforward and legally workable way of addressing the crisis” would be a “very strong deterrent.”

A government spokeswoman told PA: “We have made clear that there is no one single solution to stop the increase in dangerous crossings. We have also made clear that we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to deter illegal migration.

“We are expediting the removal of individuals by agreeing tailored bilateral returns agreements with partners like Albania, elevating it to a key priority for our foreign policy,” she added.

The surge in illegal immigrants across the Channel has continued apace despite numerous attempts to stop it at its source.

Anglo–French Deal Ramped Up Patrols

On Nov. 14, Braverman signed a deal with France’s interior minister Gérald Darmanin that raised the UK’s payment to France to £63 million ($74 million) from £55 million ($64.5 million) per year.

In a joint statement, the two governments said France would ramp up beach patrols over the next five months, deploying 40 percent more officers to block the small boats that traffickers send across the 20-mile strait.

The extra investment from the British government is to be spent on “cutting-edge surveillance technology, drones, detection dog teams, CCTV, and helicopters.”

The flood of illegal immigrants has abated only recently, partly because of poor conditions at sea.

At the worst point in the crisis, the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent housed 4,000 illegal immigrants, which is twice its capacity.

But last week, it was announced that Manston had been emptied, with all the migrants there transferred to hotels around the country.

Braverman deflected blame for the crisis last week.

“I tell you who’s at fault. It’s very clear who’s at fault,“ she told the Home Affairs Committee. ”It’s the people who are breaking our rules, coming here illegally, exploiting vulnerable people, and trying to reduce the generosity of the British people. That’s who’s at fault.”

PA Media contributed to this report.