THE government is doing “virtually nothing” to tackle Britain’s “messy” asylum system, a Labour Lord warned today as peers gathered to discuss the government’s “anti-refugee” Bill.

The Illegal Migration Bill, which will make it easier for the government to detain and deport migrants who have entered Britain through unofficial routes, is facing its first test in the House of Lords today.

It also includes provisions that would limit the ability of the European Court of Human Rights to prevent the deportation of asylum-seekers.

Home Office minister Lord Murray faced jeers and shouts of “shame” in the Lords as he argued that the Bill was a “compassionate response” to small-boat crossings.

Former child refugee Lord Dubs told his Peers: “It is fundamental to the reputation of this country that indeed we take a clear stand on human rights, we set standards — and for a long time, the world has followed us.

“[Lord Murray] says we will hold children here until they are 18 and then we can remove them.

“But previous governments have said ‘No, children will be treated in a more humane way’ — that appears no longer to be the case.

“There are so many ways in which our refugee system is a mess, yet the Bill is tackling virtually none of those.”

Lord Dubs was one of hundreds of Jewish children in Czechoslovakia brought into Britain on the Kindertransport in 1939.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, called the Bill “morally unacceptable and politically impractical,” and urged a rethink.

He said it will leave the poorest countries to deal with migration and cut Britain’s spending on international aid.

His comments were rejected during the debate by Tory peer and former adviser to Margaret Thatcher Lord Dobbs and former Tory cabinet minister Lord Forsyth.

And immigration minister Robert Jenrick called Mr Welby wrong in a BBC interview.

Peers continued to debate on the Bill after the publication of this article.

Ahead of the debate, Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Justice Secretary Alex Chalk urged the unelected officials to back its plans.

But Care4Calais chief executive officer Steve Smith said that if the Lords are serious about creating a fair asylum system, they will support safe passage for refugees as the only means to end the dangerous crossings and put smugglers out of business.

He told the Star: “Government MPs may have railroaded this inhumane and unworkable Bill through the House of Commons, but it isn’t too late for Lords to change course.

“It is the lack of safe routes that is forcing vulnerable refugees from countries like Afghanistan and Sudan to take dangerous small boat crossings to come to the UK.”

Migrant Voice director Nazek Ramadan said: “[The Bill] has been presented as ‘the will of the people’ but the British public remains overwhelmingly in favour of protection for people fleeing war and persecution.

“What people want is a fair and efficient system for assessing asylum claims that is in line with their values and does not waste public money on performative cruelty, which is all this Bill has to offer.”

She said Britain need long-term solutions, including effective processing of asylum applications so that “people can start rebuilding their lives and supporting themselves” and investment in community support.

Freedom from Torture chief executive Sonya Sceats said the Bill will “do nothing to reduce the number of Channel deaths and will lead to more torture survivors being unfairly denied protection.”

She said: “Every day, survivors in our therapy rooms tell us of the terror they feel at the government’s threat to remove them to Rwanda.

“Rather than scapegoating refugees and fomenting culture wars, this government should rebuild an asylum system capable of giving refugees a fair hearing and focus on opening safe routes to protection so that they are not compelled to risk their lives in order to reach safety in the UK.”