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UK Borders Bill

As the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, explained, Amendments Nos. 53 and 56 restore some of the discretion of the Secretary of State that the Bill aims to remove entirely. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response on why the Government think it better for there to be no flexibility in this matter. The amendments also raise an interesting point about why Clause 31 is entitled ““automatic deportation”” when there are still hoops that must be jumped through—the Secretary of State must judge whether the person is able to claim protection under the convention and whether his or her life would be in danger if deportation goes ahead. There is also the possibility that the country of origin will not accept the person back. These points are not trivial and they pose serious problems for the effective implementation of this clause. What agreements have the Government managed to make with countries about the treatment of returned criminals? Have they moved any further on methods of establishing whether those agreements to protect the criminal from breaches of the convention are being kept? We cannot support Amendments Nos. 54 and 55. We believe that involving the courts in this process would further delay an already slow process and would not add anything to the limited judgment that the Secretary of State is left to exercise.