Lord Alf Dubs, himself a former child refugee who arrived in Britain via the Kindertransport, has tabled two important amendments which soften the cruelty of the original bill.

The amendments call for unaccompanied child refugees to be exempt from the rulings of the Illegal Migration Bill. They would thus not be at risk of deportation, and would be able to claim asylum, using human rights legislation as justification when appropriate.

The second amendment  proposes that adult asylum-seekers be allowed to make human rights claims after six months if they have not been removed from the UK.

The Illegal Migration Bill, which is currently being considered by the House of Lords, has already been voted through the House of Commons and aims to curtail the rights of asylum seekers if they did not arrive in the UK via a legal route.

The legislation as it stands would remove people who arrived via illegal routes to a ‘third’ country and would ban them from ever returning or claiming citizenship.

You can write to your MP asking them to support Lord Dubs’ amendments when they are discussed in the House of Commons in a few weeks.