Shabana Mahmood was warned last night that her crackdown on asylum seekers faced being thwarted by Left-wing lawyers and MPs.

The Home Secretary was told that for as long as Britain remained signed up to human rights laws, those ordered to return home would be able to avoid deportation.

She is also facing a backlash from Labour figures and charities over her vow to stop Britain being seen as a 'golden-ticket' destination for illegal immigrants.

Under her plan to restrict the rights of those allowed to stay here, which she will unveil in the Commons today, refugee status will become temporary and face a review every 30 months.

Those wishing to settle permanently will have to wait for 20 years, and anyone fleeing unrest will be ordered to return home when their country becomes safe again.

Refugees will lose the automatic right to bring their spouses and children to join them in the UK, while those still having their claims processed will no longer receive financial support unless they need it.

Judges will be told not to let illegal migrants and foreign criminals dodge deportation by using Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which guarantees the right to a family life.

But critics pointed out that Ms Mahmood's proposals, many of which are based on Danish policies, will face immediate challenges in the courts unless the UK quits the ECHR and scraps the Human Rights Act (HRA).

Refugees told to return home when their homelands become safe will claim that their right to a family life in the UK is being breached, and anyone whose claim is rejected by domestic courts will be able to take it to judges in Strasbourg.

Migrant charities and pressure groups could ask the European Court of Human Rights to declare the entire scheme unlawful and order the Government to rewrite it.

Labour MPs and peers could also pressure ministers to dilute their plans. Attorney-General Lord Hermer has vowed the UK will not quit the ECHR.

In addition, there are doubts that the prospect of a less generous asylum system will deter illegal migrants, record numbers of whom have crossed the Channel in dinghies this year. Another 217 arrived in three boats on Friday, taking the total for the year to 39,292.

Last night, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'The Government are pretending to be tough, but while inside the ECHR they will get stopped in their tracks by Left-wing lawyers and judges – probably including their own Attorney-General.

'The only way to control our borders is to leave the ECHR and deport every single illegal immigrant upon arrival, with no court hearings.

'But Labour is too weak to do that – and their plans are doomed to failure as a result of their ECHR obsession. Labour has lost control of our border and their plans won't make any real difference.'

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: 'The Home Secretary sounds like a Reform supporter. Sadly, with the Human Rights Act and ECHR the changes won't survive the courts – or probably even her own backbenchers.'

Tory peer Baroness Maclean added: 'If she was serious she would bring back the Rwanda plan, leave the ECHR and HRA, scrap the Modern Slavery Act, and deport foreign criminals. But she won't because Keir Starmer believes that "all immigration law is racist" and most of her party believe in open borders and "welcoming refugees".'

In an early sign of an internal backlash facing the Home Secretary and Prime Minister, Labour MP Tony Vaughan KC urged the Government to 'think again'.

He posted on social media: 'The idea that recognised refugees need to be deported is wrong. The rhetoric around these reforms encourages the same culture of divisiveness that sees racism and abuse growing in our communities.'

Labour peer Lord Dubs told the BBC: 'If people have been here for some time, it could be very damaging to them and cruel if they're suddenly asked to leave. They may have settled in the meantime and got married.

'They may have family here. Do they all have to go back, or are they going to be split up?' 

Human rights lawyer David Haigh queried how a refugee who has lived in the UK for decades could be deported if their home country was deemed safe. 

He told GB News: 'Who's going to make that judgment? How are they going to be sent back? It opens up a swathe of appeals and reforms and red tape.'

Told that the plan could not be executed while the UK remained in the ECHR, Immigration Minister Mike Tapp told GB News: 'The way Denmark have reshaped their immigration system has been extremely effective, and they're within the ECHR. I've been speaking to colleagues all week about this, and it's really positive feedback.'

The plan includes the creation of safe and legal routes, offering sanctuary to those 'genuinely fleeing war and persecution', and Ukraine-style arrangements for Britons to support refugees.

But there was a backlash to restrictions on refugee status from human rights charities, which called the plans costly, impractical and inhumane.

Steve Valdez-Symonds, of Amnesty International, said: 'Bad asylum policies can expect to be challenged in the courts when they do harm to people.'

The Refugee Council estimated it would cost £872million a decade to review refugees' status every 30 months.

Sir Keir Starmer said the plan will stop 'endless appeals, stop last-minute claims and scale up removals of those with no right to be here'.

Ms Mahmood said: 'The public rightly expect that we can determine who enters this country, and who must leave. To maintain the generosity that allows us to provide sanctuary, we must restore order and control.'

In another attempt to boost deportations, the UK will today threaten US-style visa sanctions on Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, blocking people from coming to Britain unless their governments improve co-operation on removals.

Visa ban for countries that don't take back failed asylum seekers will be announced TODAY 

The Home Secretary will today announce visa bans for countries that refuse to take back illegal migrants from Britain.

Shabana Mahmood is to unveil a 'sliding scale' of penalties for states not accepting failed asylum seekers or foreign criminals.

These measures will range from the removal of fast-track visa services to bans on entry documents for everyone from tourists to government officials.

Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are the first to be formally threatened with the bans, given they have collectively refused to take back more than 4,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals.

These nations will have a month to start co-operating on removals before the sanctions are imposed.

Other countries that may join the list include India, Pakistan and Nigeria.

It comes as Ms Mahmood will today reveal sweeping reforms to bring 'order and control' to Britain's asylum system. Last night she warned that the scale of illegal immigration has 'destabilised communities'.

She said: 'The public rightly expect that we can determine who enters this country, and who must leave. We must restore order and control.'

Ms Mahmood has copied policies from Denmark, where they are credited with dramatically reducing asylum claims.

Currently those who are granted asylum can apply for permanent settled status after just five years, but Ms Mahmood wants to extend this to 20. In addition, she wants every refugee's status to be reviewed every 30 months. Those whose countries become safe will be sent home.

Since 2005, asylum seekers have received 'guaranteed, unconditional financial assistance' if they would otherwise be destitute. This is being withdrawn. 

Support, including housing and weekly allowances, will become discretionary and will be denied to those who can work, have assets, or are disruptive.

Refugees currently have the automatic right to bring their spouses and children to join them in the UK, but this will end. Instead, they will only be allowed to do so if they meet the same financial conditions as migrants arriving on skilled work visas – to show they can pay for their families' upkeep without having to claim benefits.

A new law will be introduced attempting to force judges to put public safety above the rights of illegal migrants and foreign criminals when considering removal. The Home Office says the balance must be reset because of those using Article 8 under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which guarantees the right to a family and private life, to 'game the system'.

New legislation will stop migrants making last-minute bogus claims to have been trafficked under modern slavery laws. They will also be restricted to a single route of appeal under a new 'one-stop shop' in the immigration tribunal system.

Ministers intend to discuss restrictions on Article 3 of the ECHR – the prohibition of torture – with the Council of Europe. The Home Office has claimed the definition of 'inhuman and degrading treatment' has been expanded with the result that criminals have escaped deportation because of inferior prisons or hospitals in their home countries.

Facial age estimation technology will be used to weed out illegal migrants who pretend to be children to gain preferential treatment from councils. The Home Office says the tests are 'highly effective' at determining whether individuals are over 18 or not, as well as being far quicker than bone X-rays and MRI scans.

New safe and legal routes, with numbers capped at unspecified levels, will be created to provide sanctuary for those genuinely fleeing war or persecution. Ministers hope this will reduce demand for the Channel crossings controlled by people-smuggling gangs. Communities will also be able to sponsor refugees in a Ukraine-style scheme.

The toughest aspects of Denmark's asylum crackdown are the powers of the authorities to confiscate immigrants' assets when they arrive, and to demolish social housing where more than half of residents are 'non-western', dispersing those who live there.

The Home Secretary told Sky News yesterday: 'We're not going to be starting to dictate where people live based on percentages.'