Gary Lineker and Brian Cox among high profile names calling on government to scrap its Rwanda plan
TV presenter Gary Lineker and Succession star Brian Cox are among the high-profile names who have signed a letter calling on the government to scrap its Rwanda plan.
The signatories of the letter are also urging political leaders to come up with a “fair new plan for refugees”.
They say asylum policies are not working and Britain’s refugee system is “ever-more uncaring, chaotic and costly”.
The letter has also been signed by women’s rights campaigner Helen Pankhurst, Hotel Rwanda star Sophie Okonedo, the former head of the British Army Lord Dannatt, and TV chef Big Zuu, who is the son of a refugee from Sierra Leone.
It comes in the week MPs will debate and vote on the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill.
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Kay Burley questions the defence secretary about the government’s Rwanda scheme..
The government hopes to rush emergency legislation through parliament declaring Rwanda a safe destination for asylum seekers, after the Supreme Court ruled against the scheme last month.
The letter, co-ordinated by campaign coalition Together With Refugees, states: “Our government is still trying to banish people fleeing persecution to Rwanda despite the highest court in the land ruling the scheme unlawful.
“Tens of thousands of people are stuck in limbo waiting for their refugee protection to be processed, separated from their families and barred from working.
“These policies aren’t working for refugees and they aren’t working for local communities.
“That’s why we have come together to say we’ve had enough. Enough of the division. Enough of the short-term thinking. Enough of the wasted human potential. And it’s why we now call for something better.”
Signatories want political leaders of all parties to commit to “a fair new plan for refugees” which includes upholding the UK’s commitment under international law to the right to claim asylum and scrapping the Rwanda scheme.
The letter marks the start of the coalition’s Fair Begins Here campaign which also demands a “proper strategy for welcoming and integrating refugees” through “fair, rapid decisions on their application for asylum”.
It also calls for stronger global co-operation “to tackle the root causes that force people to flee their homes and provides positive solutions when they do, including through safe routes to refugee protection”.
Read more:
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Former England footballer Lineker, who has been outspoken on the issue, said: “We need a new system that reflects the will of the British people who have opened their homes, donated and volunteered in their local communities.
“That’s why I’m backing this new campaign – because fair really can begin here.”
Together With Refugees said polling has shown less than a fifth (18%) of people think the government’s approach to the asylum system is working well, rising to just over a quarter (28%) of respondents who intend to vote Conservative at the next election.
Overall, 83% of the 1,014 adult respondents to the Focaldata polling from last week said they want an asylum system that is well managed, fair and compassionate.
The crash involving a cargo ship and oil tanker off the East Yorkshire coast is bad news for the sea, fish and air in the area. What we don’t know yet is quite how bad it will be.
That depends on a few things – but the speed of the collision, clouds of filthy black smoke from the fires and the leaked fuel are certainly worrying.
Firstly, it matters what was on board those two massive vessels.
Follow live: Jet fuel spilling into sea after tanker collision
Analytics firm Vortexa estimates the 183m-long tanker was carrying about 130,000 barrels of jet fuel (kerosene), which is now leaking into the sea.
Jet fuel is not as sticky or viscous as heavier types of oil, thankfully, so it’s less likely to clog the feathers and fur of birds and seals. It can also be broken down by natural bacteria.
But it can still poison fish and kill animals and plants on the shoreline if it makes its way into the soil there.
The Marine Conservation Society has pointed out the site in the Humber estuary is close to some protected areas and is important for seabirds and harbour porpoises.
And both ships will have been powered by a dirtier, heavier kind of oil – likely marine gas oil or heavy fuel oil, though we don’t know the details yet.
Heavy fuel oil is nasty stuff.
Pic: Bartek Smialek/PA
Cheap, thick and tar-like, it can smother animals and is very dangerous if they consume it, and is extremely difficult to clean up. Let’s hope this isn’t creeping around the North Sea already.
We don’t know how much of either the jet fuel or the oil powering the ships has leaked, or how much will be burned off in the violent fires – which themselves are ploughing black smoke and filthy air pollution into the surrounding atmosphere.
And we don’t know for sure what was on the Solong cargo ship and if, or what, will go into the sea.
Cargo ship ‘had sodium cyanide on board’
It was carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide among other cargo, according to a report from maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
The container vessel was also transporting an unknown quantity of alcohol, said the casualty report – an assessment of incidents at sea – citing a message from the local coastguard.
Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down, and potentially can choke or trap animals.
Many of us have seen that uncomfortable viral video of a turtle having a straw yanked out of its nose. Previous accidents on cargo ships have seen plastic Lego pieces wash up in Cornwall 25 years later.
Read more:
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Secondly, the impact depends on the sea and weather conditions around it.
Things like the wind and currents affect how an oil spill spreads in the sea. Scientists can draw up computer models to simulate how the oil could behave.
Thirdly, it matters how quickly this is all tackled and then cleaned up, if necessary, and if it can be.
Usually the slower the response, the worse the impact.
The coastguard has said the incident “remains ongoing” and it has started assessing the “likely counter pollution response” that will be required.
Such a response might need the help of numerous public bodies: the government environment department, the transport department, the Environment Agency and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
So for now the best we can hope for – aside from the welfare of the people involved – is that not all the oil is spilled or burnt, that conditions are calm and that rescuers and those cleaning up can work swiftly.
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