Illegal Migration Bill passes first Commons test amid pleas from MPs for changes

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Controversial asylum proposals have cleared their first Commons hurdle amid pleas from Tory MPs for amendments to protect trafficked women, children and modern slavery victims. The Illegal Migration Bill aims to stop people claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive through unauthorised means, although it has been denounced by the UN’s refugee agency as an effective “asylum ban”. The House of Commons voted 312 to 250, majority 62, to give the Bill a second reading.

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