Rishi Sunak held ‘migrants summit’ with Theresa May in bid to secure her backing to close Modern Slavery Act loophole that allows asylum seekers to block their expulsion from Britain

• Rishi Sunak met with his predecessor Theresa May to modify an act she created 
• Mrs May brought in the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 to stop domestic servitude
• Sunak is seeking to close a loophole which allows migrants to remain in the UK 

Rishi Sunak held a ‘migrants summit’ with his predecessor Theresa May in a bid to secure her support for his plan to tackle the Channel migrants crisis – which involves rewriting the modern slavery laws she introduced.

As Home Secretary, Mrs May brought in the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 to help the estimated 10,000 people in the UK living in domestic servitude or who had been trafficked for sex.

But those same laws are now being used by many migrants to block their expulsion from this country.

The Prime Minister declared last week that tackling the migrant problem was a priority, pledging to clear the backlog of asylum claims by the end of 2023, create a new dedicated small-boats operational command, and embed Border Force officers at Tirana airport under a new agreement with Albania.

Rishi Sunak held a ‘migrants summit’ with his predecessor Theresa May in a bid to secure her support for his plan to tackle the Channel migrants crisis – which involves rewriting the modern slavery laws she introduced. This file image shows the current and former Prime Ministers together at the Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year awards 2022

Critically, legislation will also be drafted to ensure that those who come to the UK illegally will be detained and returned to their home country.

There was also a commitment to use legislation to crack down on spurious legal blocking methods, including unfounded modern slavery claims.

A source said: ‘Rishi asked Theresa to help to protect her legacy by restricting the abuse of the laws. Theresa made clear that she wouldn’t accept any change which watered down the vital protections.’

And a source close to Mrs May said: ‘Theresa met Rishi to discuss modern slavery and illegal migration and she was happy to share her experiences and insights as a former Home Secretary.

‘It’s a complicated area and as she’s already said in Parliament, we mustn’t do anything to diminish our protections for victims of modern slavery. But she and Rishi have a good relationship and she welcomes some of the steps he has taken, particularly the deal with Albania, and she will continue to help where she can.’

As Home Secretary, Mrs May brought in the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 to help the estimated 10,000 people in the UK living in domestic servitude or who had been trafficked for sex

The source added: ‘These plans build upon the work that was already established. There is no one solution to this issue, hence the need to tackle it on multiple fronts.’

Tory sources have also claimed to this newspaper that former Home Secretary Priti Patel – whose time at the Home Office was dogged by calls for her to solve the small-boats crisis – was ‘going around stirring up opposition to parts of the plan because she thinks it reflects badly on her’.

It was revealed last night that eight homeless people were forced out of temporary accommodation to make way for migrants.

Crawley Borough Council confirmed the residents had been moved after the Government had taken it over to house migrants – although it said that alternative accommodation had then be found for them.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘This demonstrates the complete failure of this Government to get a grip of this crisis. The Prime Minister must ensure that his plans announced this week achieve results quickly.’

A source close to Ms Patel said it was untrue that she was opposed to the plan, and that she would object only if any attempt was made to reverse her own reforms.

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