SUELLA Braverman’s Illegal Immigration Bill is one of the most despicable that has been brought to Parliament.

Her bill would see desperate women and children fleeing persecution from war in countries like Afghanistan and Syria – where their homes have been destroyed and their lives turned upside down – turned away at the shores of Dover and told to find somewhere else to go.

It shows just how far right the Tories have been thrown in the past decade. They are throwing a large hunk of red meat to the far-right wing of their party and people like Lee Anderson. All at the expense of some of the most vulnerable and desperate people on the planet.

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Behind the smokescreen of clamping down on people smugglers and traffickers, the reality is the bill will not even touch the sides when it comes to tackling that problem. This is an all-out attack on refugees.

And cracking down on refugees is a massive distraction from the Tories and their failing record in government. Their economic incompetence over the past 13 years has plunged us into a cost of living crisis of their own making. It is too easy for them to then make those fleeing war and persecution a scapegoat for all of their problems.

It is straight out of the Tory playbook – when they are in desperate need of an upturn in the polls, they go after the most vulnerable. Not the rich city bankers. Not the millionaire tax avoiders. Not the billion-pound oil and gas companies. But those who are looking to us for support in their time of utter desperation.

However, in their attempts to vilify those in need they are not only trashing they entire asylum system but tarnishing the UK’s reputation as a safe haven. No more can the UK be looked upon as a country where people can go for help and support.

Even Suella Braverman has accepted herself that this will tarnish the UK’s reputation on the world stage. On the face of the Illegal Immigration Bill there is a clear statement that the Home Secretary is not confident that the bill will comply with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Already in Scotland we look on in despair at how the Westminster government treats those on the lowest incomes, working against them rather than with them. That callous approach also extends to those fleeing war.

The Scottish Government has taken more than its fair share of refugees from Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine and is doing all it can to support people to rebuild their lives in Scotland.

That is exactly how asylum seekers should be treated around Europe, but the UK is the outlier.

The SNP will oppose this bill at every stage as we will not accept the UK flagrantly breeching human rights laws. No human is illegal and seeking asylum is not a crime.