[ad_1]
Trials have been carried out to test a blockade in the English Channel similar to the controversial Australian tactic of “pushing back the ships”, according to official documents seen by The Guardian.
The documents, produced in mid-September and marked “official” and “sensitive,” summarize advice from officials Downing Street asked to consider “possible options for negotiating an overseas asylum processing facility similar to the one. Australian model in Papua New Guinea and Nauru ”.
In August, it was reported that Home Secretary Priti Patel planned to approach French officials to cooperate in using Royal Navy and Border Force ships to block the path of refugees and migrants trying to reach the Kingdom. United in small boats.
The document reveals that this approach has been tested. It says: “Trials are currently underway to test a ‘lockdown’ tactic in the English Channel on the mid-line between French and British waters, similar to the Australian ‘backtracking’ tactic, whereby migrant ships would be physically impeded (most likely by one or more UK RHIBs [rigid hull inflatable boats] to enter UK waters. “
Australian policy was developed by the country’s former prime minister, Tony Abbott, who was recently appointed trade adviser to the UK government. Operation Sovereign Borders involves returning ships to the country of shipment before they reach Australian waters.
The Australian government sees the policy as successful, but has come under fire from human rights groups. The Interior Ministry has been contacted for comment.
The documents have been released by The Guardian at a time of heightened tension over UK asylum policy. Seven thousand migrants have arrived in the UK in small boats across the English Channel so far this year, according to PA Media’s analysis, more than three times the number of arrivals on this route in all of 2019.
The UK government has also launched a consultation with the maritime industry to explore the construction of floating walls in the Canal to prevent asylum seekers from crossing the strait from France, the Financial Times reported.
An email from the trade body Maritime UK, obtained by the newspaper, reveals that Home Office officials are seriously pursuing the idea of floating barriers. Maritime UK told The Guardian that it had informed the Home Office that it did not believe the proposal was “legally possible”.
A Maritime UK spokesperson said: “As the umbrella organization for the UK maritime industry, we are a conduit between industry and government and are often asked by government for advice or input on political issues. We were contracted by the Home Office to broadcast a question on options for inhibiting passage into UK territorial waters, which we gave to our members. The clear opinion, which we shared with the Ministry of the Interior, was that, as a matter of international convention, this is not legally possible. “
Downing Street said it would not comment on each of the leaked measures, but said the government will soon come up with “a package of measures” to tackle illegal immigration once the UK has left the EU.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “We are developing plans around illegal migration and asylum to ensure that we can provide protection to those in need, while preventing abuse of the system and associated criminality.
“That includes looking at what many other countries are doing. But the work continues. There is a lot of speculation today and I don’t plan to add anything beyond that. “
Downing Street said it does not recognize some of the more outlandish reports, including the possibility of a wave machine in the English Channel to drive migrants back in small boats. “These things will not happen,” the spokesman said.
