MPs have voted through Priti Patel’s plans to send asylum seekers abroad for processing – despite warnings that it could cost more than putting them up in the Ritz Hotel.
House of Lords amendments to the Nationality and Borders Bill returned to the Commons this evening as the bill neared its final stages.
Amendment 9, which called for a re-think on plans to “offshore” refugees passed with a majority of 70 after a small group of Conservative rebels joined Opposition parties in trying to defeat the controversial move.
Ascension Island was seen as the most likely location to send asylum seekers to make applications, but the Home Office ruled out the idea earlier in the day after a feasibility study, meaning possible sites for processing are still unknown.
In the Commons, Labour called the idea “unhinged” and “economically illiterate because it costs an eye-watering amount of taxpayers’ money”.
Andrew Mitchell, a former Tory Cabinet minister, has warned it would involve building a “British Guantanamo Bay” and cost £2 million per asylum seeker – more than putting them up in The Ritz hotel.
But Tom Pursglove, a Home Office minister, said: “Just to be very clear for the benefit of the House, the suggestion around the Ascension Island is untrue.”
Mr Mitchell seized on the admission, telling The Independent: “The government has quite rightly now ruled out Ascension Island for offshoring.
“Offshoring is absurdly expensive and frankly the taxpayer would be less out of pocket if we accommodated all adults in the Ritz on three meals a day and sent those under 18 to school at Eton.”
Bella Sankey, director of Detention Action, said: “With this vote, Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have taken a wrecking ball to the home that we once offered to refugees.”
Just three Conservative MPs – Mr Mitchell, ex-Brexit secretary David Davis and Simon Hoare, chair of the Northern Ireland Committee – voted against the offshoring plan.
Edward Leigh, a veteran Tory MP, urged the government to “hold the line” against the criticism, because of the “overwhelming number of people who want to come here”.
“If we don’t, it would have a catastrophic effect on race relations, because people would be angry about it,” he told the Commons.
“They would think ‘why did I vote Brexit when I can’t even control my own borders? What is the government doing?’.”
Here’s the full list of MPs who voted in favour of Patel’s offshoring plans:
Nigel Adams (Conservative – Selby and Ainsty)
Bim Afolami (Conservative – Hitchin and Harpenden)
Adam Afriyie (Conservative – Windsor)
Nickie Aiken (Conservative – Cities of London and Westminster)
Peter Aldous (Conservative – Waveney)
Lucy Allan (Conservative – Telford)
Lee Anderson (Conservative – Ashfield)
Stuart Anderson (Conservative – Wolverhampton South West)
Stuart Andrew (Conservative – Pudsey)
Caroline Ansell (Conservative – Eastbourne)
Edward Argar (Conservative – Charnwood)
Sarah Atherton (Conservative – Wrexham)
Victoria Atkins (Conservative – Louth and Horncastle)
Gareth Bacon (Conservative – Orpington)
Richard Bacon (Conservative – South Norfolk)
Kemi Badenoch (Conservative – Saffron Walden)
Shaun Bailey (Conservative – West Bromwich West)
Siobhan Baillie (Conservative – Stroud)
Duncan Baker (Conservative – North Norfolk)
Steve Barclay (Conservative – North East Cambridgeshire)
John Baron (Conservative – Basildon and Billericay)
Simon Baynes (Conservative – Clwyd South)
Aaron Bell (Conservative – Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Scott Benton (Conservative – Blackpool South)
Paul Beresford (Conservative – Mole Valley)
Saqib Bhatti (Conservative – Meriden)
Bob Blackman (Conservative – Harrow East)
Crispin Blunt (Conservative – Reigate)
Peter Bone (Conservative – Wellingborough)
Andrew Bowie (Conservative – West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Ben Bradley (Conservative – Mansfield)
Graham Brady (Conservative – Altrincham and Sale West)
Suella Braverman (Conservative – Fareham)
Jack Brereton (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent South)
Andrew Bridgen (Conservative – North West Leicestershire)
Steve Brine (Conservative – Winchester)
Paul Bristow (Conservative – Peterborough)
Sara Britcliffe (Conservative – Hyndburn)
Anthony Browne (Conservative – South Cambridgeshire)
Fiona Bruce (Conservative – Congleton)
Felicity Buchan (Conservative – Kensington)
Robert Buckland (Conservative – South Swindon)
Alex Burghart (Conservative – Brentwood and Ongar)
Conor Burns (Conservative – Bournemouth West)
Rob Butler (Conservative – Aylesbury)
Alun Cairns (Conservative – Vale of Glamorgan)
Andy Carter (Conservative – Warrington South)
James Cartlidge (Conservative – South Suffolk)
Miriam Cates (Conservative – Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Maria Caulfield (Conservative – Lewes)
Alex Chalk (Conservative – Cheltenham)
Rehman Chishti (Conservative – Gillingham and Rainham)
Christopher Chope (Conservative – Christchurch)
Jo Churchill (Conservative – Bury St Edmunds)
Greg Clark (Conservative – Tunbridge Wells)
Simon Clarke (Conservative – Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
Theo Clarke (Conservative – Stafford)
Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative – Bassetlaw)
Chris Clarkson (Conservative – Heywood and Middleton)
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative – The Cotswolds)
Thérèse Coffey (Conservative – Suffolk Coastal)
Elliot Colburn (Conservative – Carshalton and Wallington)
Damian Collins (Conservative – Folkestone and Hythe)
Robert Courts (Conservative – Witney)
Claire Coutinho (Conservative – East Surrey)
Geoffrey Cox (Conservative – Torridge and West Devon)
Virginia Crosbie (Conservative – Ynys Môn)
Tracey Crouch (Conservative – Chatham and Aylesford)
James Daly (Conservative – Bury North)
David T C Davies (Conservative – Monmouth)
James Davies (Conservative – Vale of Clwyd)
Gareth Davies (Conservative – Grantham and Stamford)
Mims Davies (Conservative – Mid Sussex)
Philip Davies (Conservative – Shipley)
Dehenna Davison (Conservative – Bishop Auckland)
Caroline Dinenage (Conservative – Gosport)
Sarah Dines (Conservative – Derbyshire Dales)
Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative – Huntingdon)
Leo Docherty (Conservative – Aldershot)
Michelle Donelan (Conservative – Chippenham)
Nadine Dorries (Conservative – Mid Bedfordshire)
Oliver Dowden (Conservative – Hertsmere)
Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative – Thurrock)
Richard Drax (Conservative – South Dorset)
Flick Drummond (Conservative – Meon Valley)
David Duguid (Conservative – Banff and Buchan)
Philip Dunne (Conservative – Ludlow)
Ruth Edwards (Conservative – Rushcliffe)
Michael Ellis (Conservative – Northampton North)
Natalie Elphicke (Conservative – Dover)
George Eustice (Conservative – Camborne and Redruth)
Luke Evans (Conservative – Bosworth)
David Evennett (Conservative – Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Ben Everitt (Conservative – Milton Keynes North)
Michael Fabricant (Conservative – Lichfield)
Laura Farris (Conservative – Newbury)
Simon Fell (Conservative – Barrow and Furness)
Anna Firth (Conservative – Southend West)
Katherine Fletcher (Conservative – South Ribble)
Mark Fletcher (Conservative – Bolsover)
Nick Fletcher (Conservative – Don Valley)
Vicky Ford (Conservative – Chelmsford)
Kevin Foster (Conservative – Torbay)
Liam Fox (Conservative – North Somerset)
Mark Francois (Conservative – Rayleigh and Wickford)
Lucy Frazer (Conservative – South East Cambridgeshire)
George Freeman (Conservative – Mid Norfolk)
Louie French (Conservative – Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Richard Fuller (Conservative – North East Bedfordshire)
Mark Garnier (Conservative – Wyre Forest)
Nick Gibb (Conservative – Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Peter Gibson (Conservative – Darlington)
Jo Gideon (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent Central)
John Glen (Conservative – Salisbury)
Robert Goodwill (Conservative – Scarborough and Whitby)
Michael Gove (Conservative – Surrey Heath)
Richard Graham (Conservative – Gloucester)
James Gray (Conservative – North Wiltshire)
Chris Grayling (Conservative – Epsom and Ewell)
Chris Green (Conservative – Bolton West)
Damian Green (Conservative – Ashford)
Andrew Griffith (Conservative – Arundel and South Downs)
Kate Griffiths (Conservative – Burton)
James Grundy (Conservative – Leigh)
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent North)
Robert Halfon (Conservative – Harlow)
Luke Hall (Conservative – Thornbury and Yate)
Greg Hands (Conservative – Chelsea and Fulham)
Mark Harper (Conservative – Forest of Dean)
Rebecca Harris (Conservative – Castle Point)
Trudy Harrison (Conservative – Copeland)
Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative – Hastings and Rye)
Simon Hart (Conservative – Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
John Hayes (Conservative – South Holland and The Deepings)
Oliver Heald (Conservative – North East Hertfordshire)
James Heappey (Conservative – Wells)
Chris Heaton-Harris (Conservative – Daventry)
Gordon Henderson (Conservative – Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Darren Henry (Conservative – Broxtowe)
Antony Higginbotham (Conservative – Burnley)
Damian Hinds (Conservative – East Hampshire)
Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative – Thirsk and Malton)
Philip Hollobone (Conservative – Kettering)
Adam Holloway (Conservative – Gravesham)
Paul Holmes (Conservative – Eastleigh)
Paul Howell (Conservative – Sedgefield)
Nigel Huddleston (Conservative – Mid Worcestershire)
Neil Hudson (Conservative – Penrith and The Border)
Eddie Hughes (Conservative – Walsall North)
Jane Hunt (Conservative – Loughborough)
Jeremy Hunt (Conservative – South West Surrey)
Tom Hunt (Conservative – Ipswich)
Alister Jack (Conservative – Dumfries and Galloway)
Sajid Javid (Conservative – Bromsgrove)
Bernard Jenkin (Conservative – Harwich and North Essex)
Mark Jenkinson (Conservative – Workington)
Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative – Morley and Outwood)
Robert Jenrick (Conservative – Newark)
Caroline Johnson (Conservative – Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Gareth Johnson (Conservative – Dartford)
David Johnston (Conservative – Wantage)
Andrew Jones (Conservative – Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Fay Jones (Conservative – Brecon and Radnorshire)
Marcus Jones (Conservative – Nuneaton)
Simon Jupp (Conservative – East Devon)
Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative – Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Gillian Keegan (Conservative – Chichester)
Julian Knight (Conservative – Solihull)
Greg Knight (Conservative – East Yorkshire)
Danny Kruger (Conservative – Devizes)
Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative – Spelthorne)
John Lamont (Conservative – Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Pauline Latham (Conservative – Mid Derbyshire)
Andrea Leadsom (Conservative – South Northamptonshire)
Edward Leigh (Conservative – Gainsborough)
Andrew Lewer (Conservative – Northampton South)
Brandon Lewis (Conservative – Great Yarmouth)
Julian Lewis (Conservative – New Forest East)
Chris Loder (Conservative – West Dorset)
Mark Logan (Conservative – Bolton North East)
Marco Longhi (Conservative – Dudley North)
Julia Lopez (Conservative – Hornchurch and Upminster)
Jack Lopresti (Conservative – Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Tim Loughton (Conservative – East Worthing and Shoreham)
Craig Mackinlay (Conservative – South Thanet)
Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative – Truro and Falmouth)
Rachel Maclean (Conservative – Redditch)
Alan Mak (Conservative – Havant)
Kit Malthouse (Conservative – North West Hampshire)
Anthony Mangnall (Conservative – Totnes)
Scott Mann (Conservative – North Cornwall)
Julie Marson (Conservative – Hertford and Stortford)
Jerome Mayhew (Conservative – Broadland)
Paul Maynard (Conservative – Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Karl McCartney (Conservative – Lincoln)
Stephen McPartland (Conservative – Stevenage)
Esther McVey (Conservative – Tatton)
Mark Menzies (Conservative – Fylde)
Huw Merriman (Conservative – Bexhill and Battle)
Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative – South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Robin Millar (Conservative – Aberconwy)
Maria Miller (Conservative – Basingstoke)
Nigel Mills (Conservative – Amber Valley)
Damien Moore (Conservative – Southport)
Robbie Moore (Conservative – Keighley)
Penny Mordaunt (Conservative – Portsmouth North)
Anne Marie Morris (Independent – Newton Abbot)
James Morris (Conservative – Halesowen and Rowley Regis)
Joy Morrissey (Conservative – Beaconsfield)
Jill Mortimer (Conservative – Hartlepool)
Wendy Morton (Conservative – Aldridge-Brownhills)
Kieran Mullan (Conservative – Crewe and Nantwich)
Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative – Scunthorpe)
David Mundell (Conservative – Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Sheryll Murray (Conservative – South East Cornwall)
Andrew Murrison (Conservative – South West Wiltshire)
Lia Nici (Conservative – Great Grimsby)
Neil O’Brien (Conservative – Harborough)
Matthew Offord (Conservative – Hendon)
Guy Opperman (Conservative – Hexham)
Neil Parish (Conservative – Tiverton and Honiton)
Priti Patel (Conservative – Witham)
Mike Penning (Conservative – Hemel Hempstead)
John Penrose (Conservative – Weston-super-Mare)
Andrew Percy (Conservative – Brigg and Goole)
Chris Philp (Conservative – Croydon South)
Christopher Pincher (Conservative – Tamworth)
Dan Poulter (Conservative – Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Rebecca Pow (Conservative – Taunton Deane)
Victoria Prentis (Conservative – Banbury)
Tom Pursglove (Conservative – Corby)
Will Quince (Conservative – Colchester)
Dominic Raab (Conservative – Esher and Walton)
Tom Randall (Conservative – Gedling)
John Redwood (Conservative – Wokingham)
Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative – North East Somerset)
Nicola Richards (Conservative – West Bromwich East)
Angela Richardson (Conservative – Guildford)
Rob Roberts (Independent – Delyn)
Laurence Robertson (Conservative – Tewkesbury)
Andrew Rosindell (Conservative – Romford)
Lee Rowley (Conservative – North East Derbyshire)
Dean Russell (Conservative – Watford)
David Rutley (Conservative – Macclesfield)
Gary Sambrook (Conservative – Birmingham, Northfield)
Selaine Saxby (Conservative – North Devon)
Paul Scully (Conservative – Sutton and Cheam)
Bob Seely (Conservative – Isle of Wight)
Andrew Selous (Conservative – South West Bedfordshire)
Grant Shapps (Conservative – Welwyn Hatfield)
Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative – Elmet and Rothwell)
David Simmonds (Conservative – Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Chris Skidmore (Conservative – Kingswood)
Chloe Smith (Conservative – Norwich North)
Greg Smith (Conservative – Buckingham)
Henry Smith (Conservative – Crawley)
Royston Smith (Conservative – Southampton, Itchen)
Ben Spencer (Conservative – Runnymede and Weybridge)
Mark Spencer (Conservative – Sherwood)
Alexander Stafford (Conservative – Rother Valley)
Andrew Stephenson (Conservative – Pendle)
Jane Stevenson (Conservative – Wolverhampton North East)
John Stevenson (Conservative – Carlisle)
Bob Stewart (Conservative – Beckenham)
Iain Stewart (Conservative – Milton Keynes South)
Gary Streeter (Conservative – South West Devon)
Mel Stride (Conservative – Central Devon)
James Sunderland (Conservative – Bracknell)
Desmond Swayne (Conservative – New Forest West)
Robert Syms (Conservative – Poole)
Derek Thomas (Conservative – St Ives)
Edward Timpson (Conservative – Eddisbury)
Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative – Rochester and Strood)
Justin Tomlinson (Conservative – North Swindon)
Michael Tomlinson (Conservative – Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Craig Tracey (Conservative – North Warwickshire)
Shailesh Vara (Conservative – North West Cambridgeshire)
Martin Vickers (Conservative – Cleethorpes)
Matt Vickers (Conservative – Stockton South)
Theresa Villiers (Conservative – Chipping Barnet)
Charles Walker (Conservative – Broxbourne)
Jamie Wallis (Conservative – Bridgend)
David Warburton (Conservative – Somerton and Frome)
Matt Warman (Conservative – Boston and Skegness)
Giles Watling (Conservative – Clacton)
Suzanne Webb (Conservative – Stourbridge)
Helen Whately (Conservative – Faversham and Mid Kent)
Heather Wheeler (Conservative – South Derbyshire)
Craig Whittaker (Conservative – Calder Valley)
John Whittingdale (Conservative – Maldon)
Bill Wiggin (Conservative – North Herefordshire)
James Wild (Conservative – North West Norfolk)
Craig Williams (Conservative – Montgomeryshire)
Gavin Williamson (Conservative – South Staffordshire)
Mike Wood (Conservative – Dudley South)
Jeremy Wright (Conservative – Kenilworth and Southam)
Jacob Young (Conservative – Redcar)
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative – Stratford-on-Avon)
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