Tory MP Matt Vickers has faced intense questioning on GB News over the Conservative Party's proposed Deportation Bill, with presenters challenging him on why his party won't leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The grilling came as the Conservatives unveiled plans for a new bill that would disapply the Human Rights Act in immigration cases.
The proposed legislation includes mandatory age verification for migrants and automatic deportation for all foreign criminals, not just those sentenced to more than a year in prison.
Other measures include disapplying the Human Rights Act from all immigration matters, extending the waiting period for Indefinite Leave to Remain from five to 10 years, and introducing a legally binding cap on migration.
Matt Vickers detailed the bill on GB News today
GB News
The bill would also give powers to revoke indefinite leave for those deemed a "burden" to the UK, including benefit claimants or low-income earners.
Ellie Costello asked to Tory MP: "Why have you fallen short of saying you’ve left the ECHR? Why haven’t you said that you’ve fallen short of that?"
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Vickers replied: "In terms of application, if you look at the cases that get tied up... Take 'Chicken Nugget-gate', for example.
"We saw the case of a man who should have been deported, but argued that his kids didn’t like foreign chicken nuggets, and therefore he should be allowed to stay.
"Then there was the case of a paedophile who claimed that if he were returned to his country, he’d face hostility.
"These were Human Rights Act cases. They went through our domestic courts and were rejected on human rights grounds. What we’re saying now is that this new approach will remove that kind of logjam.
"It will allow us to deport foreign criminals. It will allow us to fix our immigration system and make it fit for purpose."
Co-host Eamonn Holmes then asked: "I don’t really understand how you can just disapply the law, say you're applying it here, not applying it next week, then applying it the week after. You're either in the ECHR or you’re not."
Vickers responded: "The Human Rights Act is Britain’s part in that. But really, the law should be decided by the people in there, by the MPs.
"The British public, who are watching you this morning, elect people into Parliament to make the law.
The grilling came as the Conservatives unveiled plans for a new bill that would disapply the Human Rights Act in immigration cases
GB NEWS
"That’s what the law should be: the law that British people want, made by the people they send to Parliament.
"It shouldn’t be determined by judges hidden away somewhere, deciding what the law should or shouldn’t be.
"We’re saying that when it comes to immigration and deportation, the law as made by Parliament should be upheld, regardless of the Human Rights Act."
