Migrants crossing Channel in small boats from France to be detained in Albania in new asylum crackdown
MIGRANTS who cross the Channel in small boats from France will be detained in Albania in a new asylum crackdown. Illegal entrants will be flown 1,500 miles to an offshore hub in the Balkans while their claims are processed. Home Secretary Priti Patel hopes the prospect will deter those planning to make the perilous crossing. […]
MIGRANTS who cross the Channel in small boats from France will be detained in Albania in a new asylum crackdown.
Illegal entrants will be flown 1,500 miles to an offshore hub in the Balkans while their claims are processed.
Home Secretary Priti Patel hopes the prospect will deter those planning to make the perilous crossing.
She said last night governments “should be able to consider every single option” when dealing with asylum seekers.
Officials in London and Albanian capital Tirana were said to be close to striking a deal on the processing centre.
PM Boris Johnson’s chief of staff Dan Rosenfield is a key driver of the policy and Foreign Office diplomats are helping.
An insider said: “The Home Secretary has made it clear she wants this to happen. Negotiations are at a technical stage. We are now down to the fine details such as precise location and numbers.”
Setting up an overseas processing centre is part of the new Nationality and Borders Bill.
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The proposal comes amid mounting pressure to act after a record 17,000-plus crossings to the UK from France so far this year.
Ministers also want to smash people-smuggling gangs that charge thousands of pounds for crossings.
The UK and Denmark have also held talks over sharing a processing centre in Rwanda in Africa.
It was revealed a year ago that the Government was considering setting one up in the Ascension Islands — 4,000 miles away in the South Atlantic.
The UK currently has no bilateral deals with EU states to return asylum seekers.
The issue of migrant crossings is seen as hugely damaging to the Government.
The 30 or so Tory MPs in the so-called Border Force Group are demanding action. France has been promised £54million to help halt the flow of crossings.
Footage recently emerged of a training drill showing armoured jetskis prepared to “turn around” boats bound for England.
A SUDANESE boy aged 16 was crushed to death as he tried to stow away on a UK-bound truck at Marck, near Calais in France.
Q AND A
How it works:
WHY does the Government want to act?
Channel crossings this year have reached new highs, with ministers working on solutions to deter small boats and people smugglers.
What is an off-shore immigration centre?
UK asylum claims would be processed while the migrants remain in Albania.
Why can’t the UK send asylum seekers back?
The UK doesn’t have any bilateral deals with EU countries.
Who is against the plan?
Off-shore centres have been described as “an act of cruel and brutal hostility” by the Refugee Council charity.
