Tory rebels ‘on side of criminals’ if they vote against immigration Bill, say Priti Patel allies

Priti Patel's political allies have warned Conservative rebels that they are "on the side of criminals" if they vote against the Government's immigration Bill on Tuesday.

The Nationality and Borders Bill, designed to ease the flow of migrants crossing the Channel, has already been amended in the House of Lords to remove plans to establish asylum processing centres in other countries.

The Home Secretary is understood to be planning to re-insert the "offshoring" clause into the Bill in the Commons on Tuesday, risking a rebellion of up to 20 Conservative MPs.

Around 40 Tories would need to join Labour in voting against it for the Government's working majority of 77 to be overturned.

The rebellion, led by Andrew Mitchell, a former chief whip, has provoked anger among allies of Ms Patel, who believe voting down the Bill would endanger the lives of refugees trafficked into the UK by criminal gangs.

"By blocking the passage of the Nationality and Borders Bill in full, detractors of the Bill are taking the side of criminals in the fight against the vile people-trafficking trade," one told The Telegraph.

"The British people are fair and generous when it comes to helping those in need. But persistent failure to properly enforce our laws and immigration rules, and the reality of a system that is open to gaming and criminal exploitation, risks eroding public support for the asylum system and those that genuinely need access to it."

The proposed "offshoring" is a controversial measure and ministers have not put forward a specific country in which a foreign asylum processing centre could be based.

Albania and Ghana, which have been mooted as possible locations in the past, have denied entering talks with the UK.

Mr Mitchell said the rebel amendments were not "adversarial" but "to help the government in its laudable aims and improve the Bill".

"The case for 'offshoring' and for not having safe and lawful routes – for which you need a scheme and numbers – is extremely weak," he said. "The cost of 'offshoring' would be greater than putting asylum-seekers in the Ritz Hotel and educating their children at Eton."

UNHCR, the United Nations' refugee agency, has previously said the Bill would "penalise most refugees seeking asylum in the country, creating an asylum model that undermines established international refugee protection rules and practices".

The Home Office said it would "fix our broken asylum system so we prevent people from making dangerous journeys to the UK and protect those in need through safe and legal routes".