UK government ‘avoiding asylum responsibilities’ with new proposals to clamp down on Channel migrant crossings, says human rights group
The UK government is “avoiding the asylum responsibilities it expects others to take” with new plans to clamp down on small boat crossings, a human rights group has said.
Refugee charities have also described the plans as “costly and unworkable” and said they “promise nothing but more demonisation and punishment” of asylum seekers.
It comes as Home Secretary Suella Braverman is set to publish long-promised legislation as early as Tuesday.
A ban on people who come to the UK illegally from claiming asylum is believed to be among the proposals being put forward in a new Illegal Migration Bill.
Government minister Chris Heaton-Harris said on Sunday that the legislation will ensure people who come to the UK illegally “are returned very quickly” or to another country such as Rwanda.
Rishi Sunak has made stopping Channel migrant crossings one of his five priorities in office, promising to introduce new laws to “make sure that if you come to this country illegally, you are detained and swiftly removed”.
Several Tory MPs welcomed the news that a new bill was imminent, with Tory MP Danny Kruger calling it a “serious plan” on BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour.
But the plans have been criticised, including by Labour, who have accused the government of “recycling the same rhetoric and failure”.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The Conservatives are responsible for an abysmal failure to tackle the huge increase in dangerous small boat crossings and the criminal gangs who are putting lives at risk and undermining border security.
“Ministers have made countless claims and promises yet the facts show their last law badly failed and made things worse.”
She said Labour was calling for a major new cross-border police unit to go after the criminal gangs, fast track asylum decisions and returns, and urged the government to reach “proper return agreements” with France and other countries, including Belgium.
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The Liberal Democrats said ministers had drawn up “another half-baked plan”, while on Sunday, trade unions accused the government of being “complicit” in a rise in far-right organised violence and intimidation against refugees.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said plans to deny those crossing in small boats the ability to claim asylum would “shatter the UK’s long-standing commitment under the UN Convention to give people a fair hearing regardless of the path they have taken to reach our shores”.
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Why do migrants cross the Channel?
He also said the plans would “add more cost and chaos to the system”.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, accused the government of presenting “the very same disastrous plan to simply avoid the asylum responsibilities it expects others to take”.
He also said the government’s proposals “promise nothing but more demonisation and punishment of people fleeing conflict and persecution who dare to seek asylum in the UK by means to which government has chosen to restrict them.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday vowed to put an end to “immoral” illegal migration.
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Speaking to the Sunday Express, he said: “Illegal migration is not fair on British taxpayers, it is not fair on those who come here legally and it is not right that criminal gangs should be allowed to continue their immoral trade.
“I’m determined to deliver on my promise to stop the boats.
“So make no mistake, if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay.”
A report in The Sunday Times said the Home Office had drawn up two plans to stop people arriving via small boats from claiming asylum – either withdrawing the right to appeal against automatic exclusion from the asylum system, or only allowing them to appeal after they have been deported.
A third proposal would prevent people from using the Human Rights Act to prevent their deportations, such as by claiming their right to family life.
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Heaton-Harris on PM’s proposed new laws on migrant crossings
The legislation could also see a duty placed on the home secretary to remove “as soon as reasonably practicable” anyone who arrives on a small boat, either to Rwanda or a “safe third country”.
Cabinet minister Chris Heaton-Harris told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme that the new laws would be “very black and white” and “safe and legal routes are certainly the way forward”.
However, questions have been raised about how any such legislation, based on the details known so far, could be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The government’s previous Rwanda scheme became mired in legal challenges, with so far no flights carrying migrants to the Rwandan capital Kigali departing.
The latest Home Office figures show 2,950 migrants have crossed the Channel already this year, while a record 45,756 migrants were recorded to have arrived in the UK last year.
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‘People smuggling is just another job’
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Home Secretary has been clear that if you arrive in the UK illegally, you should not be allowed to stay.
“We will shortly introduce legislation which will ensure that people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and promptly returned to their home country or a safe third country.
“Our work with France is also vital to tackling the unacceptable rise in dangerous Channel crossings. We share a determination to tackle this issue together, head-on, to stop the boats.”
The fast-moving developments on Trump’s Ukraine peace deal are dominating the G20 summit in South Africa, as European leaders scramble to put together a counter-proposal to the US-Russia 28-point plan and reinsert Ukraine into these discussions.
European countries are now working up proposals to put to President Trump ahead of his deadline of Thursday to agree a deal.
Ukraine is in a tight spot. It cannot reject Washington outright – it relies on US military support to continue this war – but neither can it accept the terms of a deal that is acutely favourable to Russia, requiring Ukraine to give up territory not even occupied by Moscow and reducing its army.
Overnight, the UK government has reiterated its position that any deal must deliver a “just and lasting peace”.
Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to discuss ending war in talks in Switzerland
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Keir Starmer calls for growth plan at G20
The prime minister, who spoke with E3 allies President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on the phone on Friday, is having more conversations today with key partners as they work out how to handle Trump and improve this deal for Ukraine.
One diplomatic source told me allies are being very careful not to criticise Trump or his approach for fear of exacerbating an already delicate situation.
Instead, the prime minister is directing his attacks at Russia.
Read more:
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a plenary session on the first day of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Pic: Reuters
“There is only one country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and one country that is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians,” he said on Friday evening.
“Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but its actions never live up to its words.”
Pic: AP
On the Trump plan, the prime minister said allies are meetin on Saturday “to discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.
Strengthening the plan really means that they want to rebalance it towards Ukraine’s position and make it tougher on Russia.
“Ukraine has been ready to negotiate for months, while Russia has stalled and continued its murderous rampage. That is why we must all work together with both the US and Ukraine, to secure a just and lasting peace once and for all,” said the prime minister.
“We will continue to coordinate closely with Washington and Kyiv to achieve that. However, we cannot simply wait for peace.
“We must strain every sinew to secure it. We must cut off Putin’s finance flows by ending our reliance on Russian gas. It won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Pic: AP
Europeans hadn’t even seen this deal earlier in the week, in a sign that the US is cutting other allies out of negotiations – for now at least.
Starmer and other European leaders want to get to a position where Ukraine and Europe are at least at the table.
There is some discussion about whether European leaders such as Macron and Meloni might travel to Washington to speak to Trump early next week in order to persuade him of the European and Ukrainian perspective, as leaders did last August following the US-Russian summit in Alaska.
But Sky News understands there are no discussions about the PM travelling to Washington next week ahead of the budget.
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