Labour's new immigration laws will not deter small boat migrants and only 'tinkers with the edges', top lawyers warn

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 08:04 EDT, 15 September 2026 | Updated: 08:04 EDT, 15 September 2026 Labour’s new immigration Bill ‘tinkers with the edges’ of the law and fails to address the ‘central problem’ of the small boats crisis, top lawyers have warned.MPs scrutinising Shabana Mahmood’s Immigration and Asylum Bill were told it ‘leaves untouched the central structural problem’ which allows illegal migrants to claim asylum in Britain.Richard Ekins KC, professor of law at Oxford University, said the international Refugee Convention allows even genuine refugees to be deported if they break immigration law by entering a country illegally.‘The legislation simply doesn't address that feature of the problem. The measures it makes are simply going to tinker with the edges and aren't addressing the central problem,’ said Professor Ekins, who is also head of the Policy Exchange think-tank’s judicial power project.‘There's a failure to recognise the protections we have as a country under the Refugee Convention, and to take action that would not place persons in danger and be removed to safe third states.‘The Bill … leaves untouched the central structural problem.’Dr Conor Casey, from University of Surrey and a Policy Exchange fellow, added: ‘I don't see anything here that would deter in any way unlawful crossings in the Channel.’The experts also cast doubt on Ms Mahmood’s proposals to restrict Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled the proposed new legislation in JuneThe legislation aims to stop illegal immigrants and foreign criminals using Article 8 – the ‘right to private and family life’ – remaining in UK based on relationships with extended family members, and restricting it to immediate relatives only.Professor Ekins said the previous government attempted similar measures in 2014 which proved ‘much less effective than Parliament intended’. ‘Now I think this legislation goes further and is to be welcomed in so doing, but that should be a cautionary tale. I think that there are risks of failure here,’ he said.Dr Casey added: ‘A lot of the wording in the Bill gives leeway for more flexible or generous interpretations for applicants.‘I can imagine some judges - not all, but some - reading these standards in a generous way, which would capture a large sweep of cases and defeat removals and deportations.’The reforms could also lead to a ‘spike’ in the number of people facing deportation who instead bring different types of human rights claims under Article 3 of the ECHR, which protects against ill-treatment.MPs on the Immigration and Asylum Bill Committee are examining the legislation, which was published in June.