Post-Brexit immigration law could mean refugee children are permanently separated from their families, the head of Unicef UK has warned, urging MPs to support a Conservative-backed amendment on refugee rights to the EU withdrawal bill.

The global charity’s UK boss, Mike Penrose, urged the government to include wider family reunification rights in new immigration laws for when the UK leaves the EU.



Nicky Morgan, the former education secretary and a prominent remain supporter, and the former children’s minister Tim Loughton, who backed leave, submitted a proposal to ensure child refugees have the same rights to be reunited with family members in the UK as they have under EU law.

Their amendment to the EU withdrawal bill – new clause 53 – will be debated on Tuesday. So far, 42 MPs including the former shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper have backed the amendment.

Refugees have the right to be reunited with extended family members in the UK under the EU’s Dublin III regulation, but domestic law covers only children and their parents.

Charities have warned the tight definition risks excluding children who have been orphaned, and Morgan and Loughton’s amendment would widen domestic law to allow refugee children to be reunited with siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

“This amendment is a critical moment for our government to commit to a simple, commonsense move that could save children’s lives,” Penrose told the Guardian.



“We have a renowned reputation for protecting the world’s most vulnerable children. Yet at the moment our law fails to align with the realities they face, ones that leave them orphaned or separated from their parents.”

Quick Guide What is the EU withdrawal bill? Show What is the EU withdrawal bill? The EU Withdrawal Bill – once known as the Great Repeal Bill – is going through the House of Commons to repeal the 1972 European Communities Act and transpose all existing EU legislation into domestic UK law, which will avoid a 'cliff-edge' change on the day after we leave the EU. Parts of the bill have been highly controversial, and MPs have tabled hundreds of amendments to try and change its wording, including a significant number of Conservative rebels. Some of the key controversies include its use of so-called Henry VIII powers, which will give government ministers the power to tweak the wording of laws to make sure they make sense in UK legislation - but those changes could take place without having to go through parliament. MPs have called this a "power grab" by the government. The government estimates around 800 to 1,000 measures called statutory instruments will be required to make sure the bill is applied correctly. Other concerns include the government's decision not to include the EU charter of fundamental rights in the law being transposed. Other amendments are attempts to affect the Brexit process, including legislating for a transitional period and giving MPs a binding meaningful vote on the deal secured by Theresa May, before the deal is finalised.

Penrose said anyone could see that adult siblings, grandparents and uncles and aunts counted as close family when children were fleeing wars.

“Failing to reflect this in our rules leaves children with little choice but to embark on dangerous journeys to try and reach them, at risk of being intercepted by smugglers and traffickers along the way,” he said.

Penrose said the change would be “a blow to the criminals who wish to exploit” a lack of rights for refugee children. “The government can and must do the right thing for the countless children stranded in danger. Brexit is an opportunity to do more for them, not less,” he said.

Other MPs who have signed the bill include the Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Vince Cable, and his deputy, Jo Swinson, Tory MP Geoffrey Cox, Labour MPs Stella Creasy, Harriet Harman and Chris Bryant, the SNP’s Joanna Cherry and the Green party leader, Caroline Lucas.

Theresa May is heading for a showdown at the bill’s debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday over how MPs get to vote on the final Brexit deal and whether the date for leaving should be fixed in law.

Facing a possible defeat at the hands of Tory rebels, the prime minister made a concession on Monday by agreeing to set up a new committee of MPs to monitor any proposed legal changes to EU law as it is transferred on to the British statute book.

However, the government has not backed down on its intention to fix the day of Brexit as 29 March 2019.