Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is not ruling out the possibility of children being jailed under new illegal immigration laws

Jeremy Hunt today did not rule out the possibility of children being arrested as part of the government’s plans to deal with the English Channel migrant crisis.

The Chancellor said “special arrangements” would be made for young asylum seekers entering the UK under new measures unveiled this week.

But Mr Hunt did not dismiss claims that a nearly decades-old ban on child detention will be reversed under the new approach.

Suggestions that the new Illegal Migration Bill would allow families with children to be detained have already sparked a Tory backlash and raised the prospect of a House of Commons rebellion among Conservative MPs.

Former Tory Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland admitted it was a matter of “great concern”, while ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel is reportedly considering potentially explosive intervention in the matter.

There were indications that the new illegal migration law – drafted to deal with the English Channel migrant crisis – will allow families with children to be detained

The Chancellor said “special arrangements” would be made for young asylum seekers entering the UK under new measures unveiled this week

But Jeremy Hunt did not dismiss claims that a nearly decade-long ban on child incarceration will be reversed under the new approach.

The Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition government pledged to end child detention, and legislation introduced in 2014 restricted the detention of unaccompanied children and families with children.

But it has been reported that the illegal migration bill, due to have its second reading in the House of Commons tomorrow, will effectively reverse those measures.

Mr Hunt was questioned on the BBC’s Sundays with Laura Kuenssberg program about whether children could be detained under the new plans for asylum seekers and whether a ban on child detention is still in place.

“We are making special arrangements for children, as the Secretary of the Interior (Suella Braverman) has outlined,” he said.

“Public acceptance of legal migration depends on how one deals with the injustice of illegal migration, and that’s why it’s so important that we address this issue head-on.”

Asked again if he ruled out a return to child detention, the Chancellor said: “The Home Secretary has made it clear that we will treat children differently under these agreements and I think you need to talk to her about how that is done.” that’s exactly what happened.’

Sir Robert, who was Justice Secretary in Boris Johnson’s government, told the Sunday Times that any attempt to water down the Tories’ earlier pledge to end the detention of children in immigration centers “would be of great importance”.

“While I understand the Government’s desire to discourage as many illegal migrants as possible from making the dangerous journey to the UK, anything that changes the existing protections for children and families requires close scrutiny,” he said.

He also told GB News today: “It has been our policy as a government not to treat children in such an inhuman way.

“Well I totally understand that there is concern that somehow children and women are being used as a sort of ‘ticket’ for unscrupulous people to come into this country.

“But I think we need to think really carefully before we use detention centers or places of detention for children.

“I just don’t think that’s right. And I hope that as the debate progresses we can look at that and refine the approach.”

Baroness Morgan of Cotes, a former Tory Education Secretary, said: “It is clear that the current asylum system is not working properly.

“Changes need to be made but I hope the government will urgently clarify what the new proposals mean for children who are seeking refuge from some terrible situations.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “The Illegal Migration Act will change the law so that people entering the UK illegally can be arrested and then quickly returned to a safe third country or their home country.

“Unaccompanied minors are only deported before they reach adulthood in very limited circumstances, and then only to a safe country, for example for family reunification purposes or to their country of origin. All decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.’

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk