MPs have rejected proposals to ban foreign criminals claiming their right to a family life to avoid deportation. The plans were defeated despite almost 100 MPs, many of them thought to be Tory backbenchers, voting against the government.
The Home Secretary has tabled a last-minute change to the Government's Immigration Bill so British terror suspects can be stripped of their citizenship even if it leaves them stateless.
Theresa May's amendment will allow the removal of a UK passport from any person whose conduct is deemed "seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the UK".
The move is seen as an apparent effort to appease Conservative backbenchers calling for tougher measures in the Immigration Bill which returns to the Commons tomorrow.
The Home Secretary already has the power to take away British citizenship from those with dual nationality, however, this change would allow her to make people stateless if they have been naturalised as a British citizen.
The immigration debate is underway in earnest in the Commons, exposing the rift which cuts through the Conservative Party in Westminster.
The Immigration Bill was shunted into the sidings over Christmas while ministers worked out how to head off a rebellion they saw coming.