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| Government accused of 'shabby tactics' over child refugees amendment | Government accused of 'shabby tactics' over child refugees amendment |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The government is engaging in “shabby parliamentary tactics” as it tries to block extra help for 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees stranded in Europe, according to MPs and peers. | The government is engaging in “shabby parliamentary tactics” as it tries to block extra help for 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees stranded in Europe, according to MPs and peers. |
| Charities led by Save the Children are urging MPs to back an amendment to the immigration bill on Monday night. This would force the government to accept 3,000 unaccompanied refugee minors, mostly from Syria, who have made their way to mainland Europe. | Charities led by Save the Children are urging MPs to back an amendment to the immigration bill on Monday night. This would force the government to accept 3,000 unaccompanied refugee minors, mostly from Syria, who have made their way to mainland Europe. |
| The vote is thought to be on a knife-edge, with some Conservative MPs considering joining with Labour, the Scottish National party and Liberal Democrats to support the amendment. | |
| Related: This immigration bill is a chance to stop the death of innocents | Rowan Williams | Related: This immigration bill is a chance to stop the death of innocents | Rowan Williams |
| However, if the government wins the vote, ministers have successfully argued for a label of “financial privilege” to be attached to the amendment by the Speaker, which means it cannot be sent back to the Lords because it has cost implications. | However, if the government wins the vote, ministers have successfully argued for a label of “financial privilege” to be attached to the amendment by the Speaker, which means it cannot be sent back to the Lords because it has cost implications. |
| This would effectively mean an end to the amendment first introduced by Lord Dubs, a Labour peer who was a beneficiary of the Kindertransport, the government-backed effort to accept child refugees from Germany in the run-up to the second world war. | This would effectively mean an end to the amendment first introduced by Lord Dubs, a Labour peer who was a beneficiary of the Kindertransport, the government-backed effort to accept child refugees from Germany in the run-up to the second world war. |
| Before the debate, he told the Guardian: “My message to Conservative MPs is in 1938-39, Britain took 10,000 child refugees from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. We were in the lead then and we could take an important step now. The least we can do is say this is a small number and they should be welcome here.” | Before the debate, he told the Guardian: “My message to Conservative MPs is in 1938-39, Britain took 10,000 child refugees from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. We were in the lead then and we could take an important step now. The least we can do is say this is a small number and they should be welcome here.” |
| If the vote is lost, Dubs said peers cannot bring back the same proposals again to the Commons because of the “shabby parliamentary tactics” of invoking financial privilege. Labour peers in the Lords will have to think of alternative proposals that might win over the Commons. | If the vote is lost, Dubs said peers cannot bring back the same proposals again to the Commons because of the “shabby parliamentary tactics” of invoking financial privilege. Labour peers in the Lords will have to think of alternative proposals that might win over the Commons. |
| Downing Street said it was a matter for the Commons clerks to determine whether financial privilege was applied. | |
| When asked why the government decided not to waive it like usual, the prime minister’s official spokeswoman said: “Our approach will be determined by what the amendment is about and how that reads across to government policy or not. | |
| “We set out very clearly at the end of last week a government policy that will help to relocate the most vulnerable children from neighbouring countries on top of the 20,000 resettlement programme we’ve already set out. That is a process that has been welcomed by the United Nations high commissioner for refugees. We think we should now get on with delivering that.” | |
| Yvette Cooper, chair of Labour’s taskforce on refugees and former shadow home secretary, urged Conservative MPs to take the chance to vote for the Dubs proposals. | Yvette Cooper, chair of Labour’s taskforce on refugees and former shadow home secretary, urged Conservative MPs to take the chance to vote for the Dubs proposals. |
| “When the Kindertransport happened there was cross-party support and I think there should be again for helping child refugees,” she said. “Now when you look at the risks that children and teenagers face in Europe, it’s not enough to say this is a problem for other countries. | |
| “We will look back on this in 20 years’ time and think about what we did to help in the Syrian refugee crisis. That is what I think Conservative MPs should be thinking about now, that every country should do its bit.” | “We will look back on this in 20 years’ time and think about what we did to help in the Syrian refugee crisis. That is what I think Conservative MPs should be thinking about now, that every country should do its bit.” |
| Cooper said the government was trying to block the continuation of debate by “using parliamentary tactics, which is an appalling thing for them to do and it shows they know they have lost the moral argument”. | Cooper said the government was trying to block the continuation of debate by “using parliamentary tactics, which is an appalling thing for them to do and it shows they know they have lost the moral argument”. |
| One teenage refugee from Syria, who met Cooper and Dubs for an event outside parliament, said the government was missing the point when it argued that child refugees were better helped in the region. | One teenage refugee from Syria, who met Cooper and Dubs for an event outside parliament, said the government was missing the point when it argued that child refugees were better helped in the region. |
| Related: Home Office ‘shamefully’ used new refugee law to deport 700 people secretly | Related: Home Office ‘shamefully’ used new refugee law to deport 700 people secretly |
| Speaking through an interpreter, the minor, who cannot be named and travelled through 17 countries from Syria before reaching Calais and then the UK, said: “Most of the children in the camps do have their families and parents with them but those stranded around Europe and in Calais are very vulnerable because other people could do something to them. That is the fundamental difference between the children in Europe and those in the camps.” | Speaking through an interpreter, the minor, who cannot be named and travelled through 17 countries from Syria before reaching Calais and then the UK, said: “Most of the children in the camps do have their families and parents with them but those stranded around Europe and in Calais are very vulnerable because other people could do something to them. That is the fundamental difference between the children in Europe and those in the camps.” |
| At least 95,000 unaccompanied child refugees are estimated to have applied for asylum in Europe last year. | At least 95,000 unaccompanied child refugees are estimated to have applied for asylum in Europe last year. |
| Europol, the EU’s criminal intelligence agency, estimated in January that 10,000 children had gone missing after arriving in Europe, warning that many had been taken by criminal gangs. | Europol, the EU’s criminal intelligence agency, estimated in January that 10,000 children had gone missing after arriving in Europe, warning that many had been taken by criminal gangs. |
| The Home Office made an announcement last week about providing support for up to 3,000 child refugees from camps in the Middle East. But Save the Children and others said it was merely a repeat of an announcement of aid already promised and failed to offer any help to children already trapped in Europe. | The Home Office made an announcement last week about providing support for up to 3,000 child refugees from camps in the Middle East. But Save the Children and others said it was merely a repeat of an announcement of aid already promised and failed to offer any help to children already trapped in Europe. |
| The government’s statement appears to have convinced some Conservatives who had expressed concerns about the issue, however, including backbench MP David Burrowes, who said he would vote with the government on Monday. | The government’s statement appears to have convinced some Conservatives who had expressed concerns about the issue, however, including backbench MP David Burrowes, who said he would vote with the government on Monday. |