Further to our post last week about the Government’s plans for asylum and immigration, and the robust response from the UNHCR, there has now been the second reading of the so-called ‘Illegal Migration Bill’ or rather the Refugee Ban Bill in the House of Commons.

In the midst of all the political spin at the moment about this Bill, it is important to focus in on the specific proposals contained in the Bill to expand the use of immigration detention in the UK.

After years of the numbers of people being detained decreasing and the number of detention centres also reducing, and after successful Home Office funded projects developing a practical and compassionate alternative to immigration detention, these proposals are indeed bleak and do need to be resisted.

We can do no better than to direct our readers of this blog to the thorough analysis of the detention provisions in the Bill produced by the Free Movement blog – if you haven’t see this post do take a look!