BRITAIN’S human rights watchdog said it remains seriously concerned about the impact of the government’s migration laws on vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women and trafficking victims.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the Illegal Migration Bill, which would see the law changed so that people who come to Britain by so-called illegal methods are detained and removed, risks breaching international human rights obligations.

It has already raised concerns around the removal of protections for victims of trafficking, restrictions on the right to asylum, the penalising of refugees, the rights of children, broad detention provisions and insufficient consideration of the impact on equality for different groups.