As a deterrent, according to a newspaper report, the British government wants to send people to third countries and external areas to process their asylum applications.
The overseas territory of Gibraltar on the southern tip of Spain and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, which as crown property are formally not part of the United Kingdom, reported the Times today. Other countries such as Turkey would also be discussed.
In addition, people who enter illegally from a safe country like France should be deported immediately. The law also provides for life sentences for people smuggling and the establishment of reception centers. Aid organizations criticized the plans as „inhuman and morally reprehensible“.
Entry via the English Channel is to be stopped
The aim of the radical reform is to stop illegal entry across the English Channel, the paper wrote. In 2020, 8,420 people came to Great Britain across the strait, mostly in small boats, a record.
This year there have been more than 800 so far. According to the government, many people risk the crossing after their asylum applications have been rejected in the EU.
Remembering Australia
The plans that Interior Minister Priti Patel intends to present soon are reminiscent of Australia’s controversial refugee policy. The country is holding hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers in internment camps on the Pacific island of Nauru and on the island of Manus, part of Papua New Guinea.
Last year, the British government is said to have even considered accommodating people on the remote British Atlantic islands of Ascension and St. Helena. This idea was rejected as unrealistic, reported the „Times“ now.
