'It didn't happen!' Emily Carver slaps down immigration lawyer in tense exchange over 'deportation bill': 'That's not the point!'

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.

Defending the policy on GB News today, Shadow Crime and Policing Minister Matt Vickers said the Bill would "fix our immigration system and make it fit for purpose".

Reacting to the bill on GB News, Immigration Lawyer Harjap Singh Bhangal claimed that the "beauty of those in opposition" is that they can "promise whatever they want without being accountable for it" - taking aim at the Tories.

Bhangal explained: "The fact is that all of this, if the Conservatives did have the political will, it could have been done. And we know it could have been done because towards the general election, they did introduce measures that did reduce immigration.

"Let's not forget that those numbers that have come down, they're actually introduced by the Conservative government just before the general election, showing that this could have been done in 13 years, but they didn't."

Interrupting Bhangal, host Emily Carver stressed that the point is not "whether the Conservatives are in power or not", it is whether the new Deportation Bill "would work if implemented".

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Emily responded: "That's not the point here, though, whether the Conservatives could have done it, they could have done a lot of things. They could have completely closed the borders and said we're going to have zero immigration.

"It's all hypothetical, but this, if it was implemented, could actually make a difference, couldn't it?"

Hitting out at Tory policy again, Bhangal told GB News that their plans "don't say how they're going to tackle the small boats", much like their Rwanda plan.

Bhangal argued: "The Conservatives's policies don't deal with how they're going to stop the small boats. And we saw they tried everything in their power, including the Rwanda plan, much criticised Rwanda plan, which didn't work and cost us a lot of money."

Emily then interjected again, stating: "It didn't happen! This isn't the point of the conversation. We wanted to talk to you about whether these steps, if they were implemented, would have an impact - rather than saying, 'oh, well, the Conservatives won't be in power!'"

Bhangal responded: "I've told you, I don't think they're going to have an impact, because how are you going to stop the small boats? What in this act is going to stop small boats and people smuggling gangs? This has nothing to do with the gangs.

"Where is the sentence saying we're going to catch the gangs and give them life in prison?"

Defending the Bill, a Conservative Party spokesperson said: "This Bill is a direct challenge to the Labour Government’s failure on immigration.

"It spells out exactly what a serious, credible immigration policy looks like—and proves the Conservative Party, under new leadership, is ready to govern with strength and principle."