The Bishop of Dover has co-signed a letter demanding the Government's tough new immigration bill is changed.

The Right Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin, is one of more than 1,000 signatories from leaders of six major religions who are ‘horrified and appalled" about its potential repercussions.

Others who put forward their names include a former Archbishop of Canterbury the Reverend Dr Rowan Williams.

The group had the letter published today (Monday) when the Nationality and Borders Bill enters its final stages in the House of Lords.

The group says that in the context of rising global conflict, including this week in Ukraine, the way the Bill undermines the UK’s ability to support all people fleeing conflict is even more prominent.

The letter, directly to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, says: "As leaders within faith communities across the UK, we are horrified and appalled about the potential repercussions of the Nationality and Borders Bill.

"We urge you to reconsider the proposals even at this late stage.

"While there is still conflict and injustice in the world, there will always be desperate people needing to seek sanctuary from war, persecution and suffering.

"We cannot close our door on them, but this Bill does just that.

"We assert that the values that bind UK citizens together, especially those concerning human dignity and life, will be fundamentally damaged by this Bill."

The signatories want the Government to abandon its plans to criminalise and restrict the rights of all people arriving in the UK seeking refugee protection outside pre-arranged schemes.

This would include those coming via irregular routes, such as by boats or lorries.

"Criminalizing asylum seekers is disgraceful and dishonourable."

The letter says: "We have seen no credible evidence that it will stop irregular migration across the English Channel: it is therefore, policy made without a basis in evidence or morality.

"Criminalizing and punishing vulnerable asylum seekers who have little choice but to arrive in the UK through ‘irregular routes’ is a disgraceful and dishonourable policy, and should be abandoned."

The letter said this was particularly when most could later prove that they had a legitimate basis for their asylum claim.

The signatories also say the Government must deal with the failure to establish safe routes through the Bill, which would help people seeking sanctuary reach the UK.

They urge the Prime Minister to be "compassionate and ambitious" in opening schemes such as family reunion, routes for unaccompanied refugee children in Europe and resettlement.

The signatories come from the Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist religions.

They call on Mr Johnson to show "political leadership" and promote "compassion, human life and dignity. "

They have asked the Prime Minister to meet to discuss their concerns.

One signatory is the Reverend Steve Tinning of the Baptist Union of Great Britain.

He also commented: "The horror of the war in Ukraine brings the reasons why the government must reconsider this Bill into sharp focus. It would bring shame on the UK to criminalise refugees who make dangerous journeys from Ukraine to reach safety here in the UK."

A Home Office spokesman said: “The Government has a proud history of supporting people in need, including those in Ukraine, and that is not about to change.

“The Nationality and Borders Bill, which has already been backed by MPs, will deliver the most comprehensive reform in decades to protect the vulnerable and ensure fairness in our asylum system.

“We will be able to differentiate between those who arrive here through safe and legal routes and those who arrive here having had the opportunity to claim asylum already in a safe country.

"This Bill reduces the incentives for people to make dangerous crossings and introduces a maximum sentence of life for evil people smugglers.”

The Ntionality and Borders Bill was passed in the House of Commons last December.

For many years asylum seekers have waited in Calais to board the backs of lorries to cross the English Channel to the UK.

In the last four years the method has often been to cross the sea in small boats.

More than 28,300 people crossed the Dover Strait in this way in 2021, triple 2020's figure.

A Home Office spokesman said that on Friday another 132 were intercepted crossing the Channel in four different incidents.

Tom Pursglove, Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, said:“The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable. Not only are they an overt abuse of our immigration laws but they also risk lives and impact on the UK taxpayer. Rightly, the British public has had enough.

“Through our Nationality and Borders Bill, we’re cracking down on people smugglers and fixing the broken system by making it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and introducing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for those who facilitate illegal entry into the country.”

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