Sunak says new Bill will see people coming illegally to UK detained and removed
Writing in The Sun newspaper today, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged that new immigration legislation, which he dubbed the 'Stop The Boats Bill', will be unveiled within weeks.
In an article making five promises to voters, the Prime Minister promised to put a stop to asylum seekers crossing the English Channel by small boats. Over 45,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats in 2022.
The Prime Minister wrote in The Sun: "In the coming weeks, our new Stop The Boats Bill will change the law to send a message loud and clear. If you come here illegally, you will be detained and removed."
The Telegraph had earlier reported on Monday that ministers may seek to introduce the new Illegal Immigration (Offences) Bill before MPs recess at the end of next week.
Sunak added in The Sun that Britain will always welcome people fleeing war, famine or brutal regimes, but those crossing the Channel were starting their journey in perfectly safe countries. He said this was unfair on those who come to UK legally and it was unfair on those who have a genuine asylum claim.
On Sunday, the Mail on Sunday reported that Sunak was planning hardline new measures that would see asylum seekers stripped of their right to claim asylum and detained for up to three months without a hearing into their claim.
According to the Mail on Sunday, sources said Attorney General Victoria Prentis warned the Prime Minister that such measures would 'never get through the courts', while Home Office officials are understood to have argued it would break international laws and the UK's commitment to the Refugee Convention.
Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said on Tuesday that the Government's proposed new legislation was inhumane and would leave tens of thousands asylum seekers locked up and treated like criminals.
The Refugee Council added on Twitter today that what Sunak was proposing in The Sun was "unworkable, illogical and unfair".
In a brief 9-page report published on Tuesday, the Refugee Council noted that the majority of people crossing the Channel via small boats are genuine refugees. Most are from war-torn or oppressive countries where there are no safe and formal routes available to claim asylum in the UK
The Refugee Council said: "Men, women and children from more than 20 different nationalities crossed the channel in 2022. Based on the current asylum grant rates for those countries, Refugee Council's analysis has found that 25,119 of those people who crossed the channel – six out of ten - would be recognised as refugees at the initial decision stage by the UK Government once their asylum claim was processed. Given a significant number of people will be recognised as refugees after appealing their initial decision, the ultimate number is likely to be even higher."
The Refugee Council also highlighted that safe routes for refugees to come to the UK are extremely limited.
The briefing explained: "In the first nine months of 2022, 24,881 people from [Albania, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Eritrea and Sudan] crossed the Channel. During the same period, only 867 people from those same countries were resettled through a safe route, working in collaboration with the UNHCR, to the UK. The majority of those people were resettled from Syria, with only 14 and 9 people resettled from Eritrea and Iran respectively. This clearly demonstrates that the vast majority of refugees who make dangerous journeys being exploited by ruthless people smugglers have no choice – they do not have access to safe routes to reach the UK."
Enver Solomon commented: "The majority of the men, women and children who cross the Channel do so because they are desperate to escape war, conflict and persecution. They have a genuine and urgent need of help and support – and have no other options. There are simply no safe routes through which they can seek safety – no refugee visa they can apply for like those from Ukraine."