Ex-minister Caroline Nokes reveals she will not vote for Rishi Sunak’s small-boat crossings plan
EX-MINISTER Caroline Nokes last night revealed she will not vote for Rishi Sunak’s plan to stop small boat crossings.
She admitted she has a “range of anxieties” over the immigration bill, adding: “I fail to see what this legislation is going to do to act as a deterrent.”
The Tory MP spoke out after it emerged new laws would allow the detention of families with children and the deportation of unaccompanied kids.
Jeremy Hunt did not rule it out, saying “special arrangements” will be made for youngsters.
Ms Nokes added on Times Radio: “We have a duty to treat people humanely. I have absolute horror at the prospect.”
Ex-Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland added it wasn’t right to “treat kids in that inhumane way”.
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Plans announced by the government last week would see unauthorised migrants deported and given a lifetime ban from coming back to the UK.
Those who cross in a small boat would be eligible for asylum in a safe third country like Rwanda, where the UK has signed a £120 million deal.
Meanwhile, broadcaster Gary Lineker sparked controversy when he responded to a video on Twitter of Home Secretary Suella Braverman as she presented the Government's small boats plan.
The legislation will see migrants swiftly detained and removed to either their country of origin or a safe third state within 28 days.
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Sharing the clip, Mr Lineker said: "Good heavens, this is beyond awful."
Responding to another user who described him as "out of order", he added: "We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries.
"This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I'm out of order?"
The BBC said the pundit's comments on Twitter were a "breach of our guidelines".
After the Beeb revealed it had asked Lineker to "step back" from his duties on Match of the Day, the host's colleagues Alan Shearer and Ian Wright boycotted the show in "solidarity".
Within hours on Friday, many of the staff at the BBC's sports department also confirmed they would not be broadcasting the weekend's football action
