BBC Question Time host Fiona Bruce was forced to intervene when tensions rose during discussions about the Government’s Rwanda scheme.
Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson was silenced by the presenter when she hit back at Policing Minister Chris Philp.
He said: “We need to have control over who does and doesn’t come here, both to legally come here and work, which we obviously value – but controlled.
“We’ll decide who meets the criteria, and for humanitarian purposes, we should decide – the Government and the public here -who should come in. We’ve been very generous.”
The minister was referring to people who have arrived from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Syria.
Fellow panellists and members of the audience then began to heckle Mr Philp.
He added: “It should be based on need, not based on most of the young men paying people smugglers leaving a manifestly safe country – France.”
Ms Bruce began to intervene to try to move the conversation to a different topic with only 10 minutes of the show to go but Ms Wilson interrupted by saying the UK is an island and migrants cannot arrive without crossing the channel.
The show’s host put up her hand and demanded the panellists “hang on a minute” while Ms Wilson and Mr Philp went back and forth briefly until Ms Bruce moved the conversation along.
Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda Bill has become law after weeks of parliamentary deadlock, paving the way for deportation flights to get off the ground.
The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill became an Act of Parliament after being granted royal assent, the Lord Speaker told the House of Lords on Thursday.
The accompanying treaty the UK has signed with the east African nation has also been ratified, the Home Office confirmed later in the afternoon.
It comes as the Home Secretary insisted spending money on the Rwanda scheme was “absolutely worth it” and the Government would “keep those flights going until we stop the boats”.
Opponents to the multi-million pound plan, and migrants who are told they are to be sent to Rwanda, could issue legal challenges in a bid to stop the flights.
But it is unclear whether any further legal action would succeed in light of the new laws.
