Asylum seeker’s 6-word verdict on Labour’s one in, one out deal | UK | News
Asylum seekers seeking to cross the English Channel in small boats say Labour’s new ‘one in, one out’ deterrent has not deterred them from making the perilous journey. A “landmark” pilot project with France sees migrants in Britain returning across the Channel in exchange for London granting asylum to someone with a legitimate family connection in the UK.
Around 26 migrants have returned to France from the UK since the program started in August, with 18 arriving from the other side. Both the Conservatives and the Reform Party have warned that the extradition agreement does not go far enough. In northern France, asylum seekers hoping to reach the UK appear carefree.
Somali Mali Ali said in his six-word verdict on Labor’s “groundbreaking” deterrence plan: Sun: “Everyone will still try to come.”
The 22-year-old spoke to the newspaper from the New Jungle camp near the town of Loon-Plage.
Ali Farah, 24, also from Somalia, has a sister in the UK and said deterrence “does not put anyone off”.
“People will try their luck,” added Safa Ali, a 35-year-old Iraqi veteran.
Signs detailing the “one in, one out” return agreement were hung around the camp, The Sun reported.
The advice, reportedly issued by the charity Refugee Legal Support, states: “Important! Only a very small number of people can be detained for transfer under this programme.”
Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said last week that flights sending asylum seekers back to France were “increasing”.
He said: “We are sending a clear message: if you come here illegally you will be detained and deported, so think twice before you embark on this journey.”
On Thursday, Britain’s border security commander, Martin Hewitt, admitted that only 12 Home Office staff were working on the repatriation deal.
Almost 11,000 migrants have arrived since the program was launched and Mr Hewitt said he found those figures “frustrating and really challenging”.
But on a positive note, he told MPs sitting on the House of Commons home affairs select committee: “I believe that the plan, the sort of cross-spectrum plan that we have, is a plan that will succeed, but we need to continue to push and implement that plan.”
