Member

Lastly, Amendment 203 in this group appears as amendment 7 in the JCHR report, and the arguments are set out on page 20 of the report. It would insert a new clause. In brief, Section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 provides a statutory defence for refugees committing particular offences provided that they satisfy stated conditions. The specified offences include forgery and connected uses, the use of deception to obtain or seek to obtain leave to enter or remain or to secure the avoidance, postponement or revocation of enforcement action, the falsification of documents and offences under the Identity Documents Act 2010. Paragraph 44 of the JCHR report notes the recommendation of the previous committee that Section 31 should be amended to cover all offences relating to unauthorised entry. Our report states: