Labour believes in a properly managed and effective asylum system so that across the UK we fulfil our humanitarian and legal obligations, to help those fleeing persecution and conflict.

The Tories have broken our asylum system, caused total chaos so that the speed and quality of decision making has collapsed, the backlog of cases has soared with the resulting cost to the public purse of increasing hotel use for people who need a decision on their case so they can work and rebuild their lives.

Tory Ministers have promised for years that their policies would end dangerous channel crossings and speed up the asylum system but instead they have repeatedly made things worse.

Labour will go after the criminal smuggler and trafficking gangs who are profiting from putting lives at risk. We will clear the asylum case backlog and end hotel use and, we will work internationally to ensure safe returns as well as establishing properly managed and controlled safe, legal routes for people.

The Tory government’s “Illegal Migration Bill” will not fix the problem they have created. It will do the opposite. That’s why I and my Labour colleagues have voted against it.