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.
Over half of all Conservative backbenchers rebelled against David Cameron on the vote to ban foreign criminals claiming their right to a family life to avoid deportation, Labour said.
Anticipating a rebellion, Downing Street ordered Conservative ministers to abstain.
The Labour Whips' Office tweeted:
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.