Being gay or a woman isn’t reason enough to claim asylum, says Suella Braverman

Published

1 year ago

September 26, 2023

admin

Home Secretary Suella Braverman will question whether the foundation of modern asylum law is still relevant in a speech in the US today.

Ms Braverman will ask whether the United Nations Refugee Convention 1951 is “fit for our modern age” – and say “simply being gay, or a woman” should not by itself be enough to qualify for protection under international refugee laws.

She will be speaking to the American Enterprise Institute, a centre-right thinktank in Washington DC, to set out her plans to tackle the refugee crisis.

Politics latest: Davey won’t say he wants to rejoin EU

Ms Braverman has run the Home Office since Priti Patel left roughly a year ago, although she briefly left after being found to have breached government security rules before later being reappointed.

Tens of thousands of people have crossed to the UK during this time, despite legislation passed by both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak and the prime minister’s pledge to “stop the boats”.

This is not the first time the home secretary has questioned international law – she has previously signalled her discontent with the European Convention on Human Rights and its interpretation and the subsequent impact on policies like the government’s Rwanda deportation scheme.

Ms Braverman will argue that tests for how refugees are defined have changed, lowering the threshold for claiming asylum.

She will say: “Let me be clear, there are vast swathes of the world where it is extremely difficult to be gay, or to be a woman. Where individuals are being persecuted, it is right that we offer sanctuary.

“But we will not be able to sustain an asylum system if in effect simply being gay, or a woman, and fearful of discrimination in your country of origin is sufficient to qualify for protection.”

Ms Braverman is set to say the current “global asylum framework” enables the “merging” of “seeking asylum” and “seeking better economic prospects”, “seeking refuge in the first country you reach” and “shopping around for your preferred destination”, and getting trafficked against your will and paying to be smuggled.

She will say: “This legal framework is rooted in the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

“The convention was created to help resettle people fleeing persecution, following the horrors of World War Two and the Holocaust, and was – initially at least – centred around Europe.

“It was an incredible achievement of its age.

“But more than 70 years on, we now live in a completely different time.

“When the Refugee Convention was signed, it conferred protection on some two million people in Europe.

“According to analysis by Nick Timothy and Karl Williams for the Centre for Policy Studies, it now confers the notional right to move to another country upon at least 780 million people.

“It is therefore incumbent upon politicians and thought leaders to ask whether the Refugee Convention, and the way it has come to be interpreted through our courts, is fit for our modern age? Or whether it is in need of reform?”

Ms Braverman will claim that case law has led to the “persecution” requirement to seek asylum being watered down to “discrimination”.

She will go on: “The status quo, where people are able to travel through multiple safe countries, and even reside in safe countries for years, while they pick their preferred destination to claim asylum, is absurd and unsustainable.

“Nobody entering the UK by boat from France is fleeing imminent peril. None of them have ‘good cause’ for illegal entry.

“The vast majority have passed through multiple safe countries, and in some instances have resided in safe countries for several years. In this sense, there is an argument that they should cease to be treated as refugees when considering the legitimacy of their onward movement.”

This is not the first time senior Conservative ministers have signalled their displeasure with international rules around migration.

Dominic Raab, who was deputy prime minister until he had to resign following bullying allegations, repeatedly voiced his displeasure with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said Ms Braverman “has given up on fixing the Tories’ asylum chaos at home so now she’s resorting to grandstanding abroad and looking for anyone else to blame”.

She added that “dangerous boat crossings are up, the backlog of undecided cases is at a record high, returns are down by 70% and the taxpayer is now spending an astronomical £8m a day on hotels – all because the Conservatives have time and again offered cheap gimmicks instead of getting a proper grip”.

Ms Cooper said: “Most people in Britain want to see strong border security and a properly managed asylum and resettlement system so that the UK does its bit to help vulnerable refugees who have fled persecution and conflict – like the Afghan interpreters who helped our armed forces.

“Under the Tories we have the worst of all worlds – a broken asylum system that is neither firm nor fair.”

UK

Ellis Cox: Mother appeals to catch son’s killer on birthday anniversary

Published

31 mins ago

January 19, 2025

admin

Ellis Cox: Mother appeals to catch son's killer on birthday anniversary

Fresh appeals have been made for information on what would have been the 20th birthday of Ellis Cox, who was shot dead in Liverpool last June.

A number of people have been arrested in connection with the murder at Liver Industrial Estate, but no one has been charged yet.

The 19-year-old’s family and police have paid tribute to him and called for those with information to come forward.

He was shot in the back after a confrontation between his friends and another group of up to three males on Sunday 23 June.

His mother Carolyn paid tribute in an appeal to coincide with what would have been his 20th birthday.

“He was so kind… so laid back, so calm, so mature for his age. And he was just funny. Very funny.

“He was my baby… no mum should have to bury a child. He was my life. And I don’t know what to do without him.”

Meanwhile, his aunt Julie O’Toole said he was “the sort of person I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to say anything negative about. He was loyal, fiercely loyal… everything was about his family”.

To pay tribute to Ellis, Liverpool City Council will be lighting up the Cunard Building and Liverpool Town Hall in orange on Saturday.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, the senior investigating officer, spoke about the information gathered so far, six months on from Mr Cox’s murder.

“I’m satisfied that the group that he was with was probably the target… and I would say that’s got something in relation to do with localised drug dealing in that area. But Ellis had no involvement in that whatsoever,” he said.

He added that police are looking for “really significant pieces of evidence now”, including “trying to recover the firearm that was used in relation to this, looking to recover the bikes that were used by the offenders”.

Mrs Cox also appealed for people to come forward with information.

“If you know anything, don’t let us get to [his] next birthday and still know nothing.

“We need to get justice for Ellis. And we need to get the people who took him from us off the streets.”

UK

Reward of £20,000 offered to identify parents of three siblings abandoned as babies over eight years

Published

10 hours ago

January 18, 2025

admin

Reward of £20,000 offered to identify parents of three siblings abandoned as babies over eight years

A £20,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the identification of the parents of three siblings found abandoned in London over eight years.

The Metropolitan Police said that despite more than 450 hours of CCTV being reviewed, the parents of the three children, known as Elsa, Roman and Harry, remain unidentified.

However, it is believed their mother has lived in an area of east London “over the past six years”.

Elsa was believed to be less than an hour old when she was found by a dog walker on 18 January last year, in East Ham, east London.

In the months that followed it was found that she had two siblings who were also abandoned in similar circumstances, in the same area of London, in 2017 and 2019.

On Saturday, police said the independent group Crimestoppers had offered a £20,000 reward for information passed to the charity, which will expire on 18 April.

Detective Inspector Jamie Humm, of the Met’s child abuse investigation team, said: “We have carried out extensive inquiries over the past year to try and locate Elsa’s parents.

“This has involved reviewing over 450 hours of CCTV and completing a full DNA structure of the mother.

“We have serious concerns for the wellbeing of the parents, especially the mother, and are continuing to work closely with Newham Council and appeal for the public’s help for information.

“I believe that someone in the area will have been aware of the mother’s pregnancies and that within the community there may be (or) have been concerns for this mother’s welfare.

“Thanks to the DNA work of forensic colleagues, police will be able to eliminate any unconnected person quickly and easily, as such I would ask you to contact police with confidence.”

Elsa was found wrapped in a towel in a reusable shopping bag, of which police have also released a new image, and was kept warm by the dog walker. She was uninjured.

Police said at the time that it was “highly likely” that she was born after a “concealed pregnancy”.

The BBC reported that at an initial court hearing, East London Family Court was told it took doctors three hours to record Elsa’s temperature because of the cold, and the Met Office said that temperatures dropped to as low as -4C on the night she was found.

Hospital staff named her Elsa in a reference to the character from the film Frozen.

The police investigation into the identity of the children’s parents continues, and anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or post @MetCC ref Operation Wolcott.

People can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously at any time on 0800 555 111 or via Crimestoppers-uk.org.

UK

Ellis Cox: Mother appeals to catch son’s killer on birthday anniversary

Published

1 day ago

January 18, 2025

admin

Fresh appeals have been made for information on what would have been the 20th birthday of Ellis Cox, who was shot dead in Liverpool last June.

A number of people have been arrested in connection with the murder at Liver Industrial Estate, but no one has been charged yet.

The 19-year-old’s family and police have paid tribute to him and called for those with information to come forward.

He was shot in the back after a confrontation between his friends and another group of up to three males on Sunday 23 June.

His mother Carolyn paid tribute in an appeal to coincide with what would have been his 20th birthday.

“He was so kind… so laid back, so calm, so mature for his age. And he was just funny. Very funny.

“He was my baby… no mum should have to bury a child. He was my life. And I don’t know what to do without him.”

To pay tribute to Ellis, Liverpool City Council will be lighting up the Cunard Building and Liverpool Town Hall in orange on Saturday.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, the senior investigating officer, spoke about the information gathered so far, six months on from Mr Cox’s murder.

Mrs Cox also appealed for people to come forward with information.

“If you know anything, don’t let us get to [his] next birthday and still know nothing.

“We need to get justice for Ellis. And we need to get the people who took him from us off the streets.”