Member

There will undoubtedly be many people outside this House who will say, “Who cares if these people have no right to legal aid advice?”—in effect, that they deserve it. I am arguing, and I hope that the House will be with me on this, that anyone who comes under the umbrella of English law, however evil or unpopular they might be, is entitled to legal advice when the situation they are in demands it. It seems to me to be an important part of the rule of law. Does not a foreign national offender being immediately deported after sentence sound like someone who is in such a situation? How is a prisoner going to be able to appeal his sentence of deportation if they are removed at once or within a very short period? In the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, this situation arose in the context of asylum seekers, whether in prison or in IRCs. All parties in this House agreed that advice should be available. The noble Lord, Lord Davies of Gower, from the Opposition Front Bench, said,