UK will ‘not take back asylum seekers from Ireland until France takes back Channel migrants’
The UK will not to take back asylum seekers who cross the border into Ireland “until the EU accepts that we can send them back to France”, according to a government source.
The comment comes amid an escalating row between Dublin and Westminster over the Irish government’s plans for new legislation to enable asylum seekers who cross the border from Northern Ireland to be sent back to the UK.
Irish justice minister Helen McEntee told a parliamentary committee last week that more than 80% of recent arrivals in Ireland came via the land border with Northern Ireland.
Ireland’s deputy prime minister and foreign secretary Micheal Martin also said the threat of deportation to Rwanda was causing “fearful” migrants to head for Ireland instead of the UK.
As the row deepened on Sunday night, Irish prime minister Simon Harris, vowed the country would “not provide a loophole for anybody else’s migration challenges”.
He also said that “close” collaboration and cooperation between the British and Irish governments was “not just desirable, but absolutely essential”.
However, a UK government source said any bid to return asylum seekers from Ireland would be rejected unless France agreed to do the same with boats crossing the Channel.
“We won’t accept any asylum returns from the EU via Ireland until the EU accepts that we can send them back to France,” the source said.
Taoiseach Simon Harris. Pic: PA
It comes as figures showed the number of migrants that crossed the Channel in small boats during the first four months of the year was at its highest-ever level.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reported on Sunday night that a major operation by the Home Office to detain migrants across the UK in preparation for their deportation to Rwanda had begun “weeks earlier than expected”. The report has not been verified by Sky News.
Ministers from both countries are set to meet in London on Monday as part of a pre-planned conference, involving Mr Martin and the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris.
However, a meeting between the UK home secretary, James Cleverly, and Ms McEntee, planned for Monday, was postponed late on Sunday night.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
‘A global challenge’
Mr Martin said the UK government’s Rwanda policy – which became law last week after much legal and political back-and-forth – had already impacted Ireland because people were “fearful” of staying in the UK.
“Maybe that’s the impact it was designed to have,” the former taoiseach told The Daily Telegraph.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Sky News on Sunday that the UK’s Rwanda scheme was already working as a deterrent.
He also said the comments from Irish politicians showed that illegal migration was a “global challenge”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Rwanda scheme is working, says PM
“[That] is why you’re seeing multiple countries talk about doing third country partnerships, looking at novel ways to solve this problem, and I believe [they] will follow where the UK has led,” he said.
Mr Harris, who took over as taoiseach in April, is already facing pressure from voters to tackle migration in Ireland – which has seen anti-immigrant protests in recent months.
Read more from Sky News:
Dublin anti-immigrant camp ‘not about racism’
Irish PM apologises over Stardust nightclub fire
He has asked his justice minister to “bring proposals to cabinet to amend existing law regarding the designation of safe ‘third countries’ and allowing the return of inadmissible international protection applicants to the UK”.
Irish ministers are expected to discuss emergency legislation on Tuesday.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Ireland plans to return migrants to UK
The legislation is being drafted in response to an Irish High Court ruling that found Ireland designating the UK as a “safe third country” for returning asylum seekers, in the context of the Rwanda plan, is contrary to EU law.
Ms McEntee said she would seek government approval for the legislation to be “rapidly drafted so that the UK can again be designated as a safe country for returns”.
“My department has been working on this as a priority since last month’s High Court judgment and I intend that returns to the UK will recommence once the law is enacted,” she added.
A woman who was stabbed to death in north London has been named by police – as a man was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Pamela Munro, 45, was found with a stab wound and died at the scene in Ayley Croft, Enfield, on Saturday evening, the Metropolitan Police said.
A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on Monday and is in custody, the force added.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil John said: “Investigating officers have worked relentlessly across the weekend to investigate the circumstances around Pamela’s death.
“We continue to support her family who are understandably devastated.”
Police at the scene at Ayley Croft in Enfield
Read more from Sky News:
Fresh appeal over student’s murder
100 firefighters battle flats blaze
The Met Police has asked anyone with information or who was driving through Ayley Court between 6.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday and may have dashcam footage to contact the force.
A “British man” has died after being beaten and set on fire by a mob in Ecuador, according to reports by media in the South American country.
According to reports, the man – who has not been officially identified – had been detained by police after being accused of being involved in a fatal shooting.
Ecuadorian news outlet Ecuavisa reported that the man had been taken to a police station Playas del Cuyabeno, a remote village in the Amazon rainforest.
While there, a group broke into the station and took the man away. He was then set on fire in the street, it is reported, and died from his burns.
The incident reportedly happened in the Playas del Cuyabeno area of Sucumbios province
Another local report, from EXTRA.ec, said that specialist police units had been slow to arrive due to the geographical conditions of the area – which is accessible by river.
Read more from Sky News:
IDF finds ‘failings’ over attack on aid workers
Pope blesses Easter crowds from popemobile
According to reports, police officers at the station apparently decided they could not intervene when the mob arrived out of concerns for their own safety.
It is understood the UK Foreign Office is following up reports about the incident and working with local authorities to confirm the details.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway