What is the UK goverment’s plan to tackle small boats all about and how big is the asylum problem?

Government says Illegal Migration Bill will ‘stop the boats’ but critics warn it won’t work

Rishi Sunak’s plans to tackle illegal migration to the UK have passed their first parliamentary hurdle, gaining the support of MPs in the Commons by 289 votes to 230.

The government accepted several amendments from rebel Conservatives, including clarifying the limited circumstances in which unaccompanied children could be deported and a commitment to set out the “safe and legal routes” for asylum seekers to reach Britain.

But other government amendments toughened the law, making it harder for those who are deported to seek a waiver of their ban on re-entry or gaining British citizenship, and limiting the ability of individuals to delay their removal to a third country by citing the risk of “serious and irreversible harm”.