“You don’t demonise the desperate:” Cole-Hamilton demands UK Govt scrap Illegal Migration Bill

Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s Scottish Parliament debate on the UK Government’s Illegal Migration Bill, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called on the Conservative Party to scrap the Bill, which would see anyone entering the UK via small boats immediately detained and deported to another country as soon as possible.  

In particular, Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling on the UK Government to:  

• Scrap the Illegal Migration Bill immediately.  
• Fix the broken asylum system by taking powers away from the Home Office and establishing a new, dedicated unit to make decisions quickly and fairly.  
• Provide safe and legal routes to sanctuary for refugees from all countries.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:  

“The Conservatives are betraying the UK’s proud tradition of helping those fleeing war and persecution. These immoral, ineffective and incredibly costly plans would shame us on the world stage. You don’t demonise the desperate.  

"The blame for our broken asylum system lies squarely with the Conservatives. The Illegal Immigration Bill will do absolutely nothing to address the criminal gangs responsible for arranging these dangerous crossings, and instead punishes the victims of human trafficking.    

“Scottish Liberal Democrats are demanding that the Government immediately scrap this legislation and reassess their heartless and unworkable approach. They must provide safe and legal routes for refugees by introducing an expanded and properly funded refugee resettlement scheme and a new scheme to resettle unaccompanied child refugees from elsewhere in Europe.”