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Asylum seekers could be sent to overseas processing centers under the interior secretary’s plans to reform the immigration system, according to reports.
The British overseas territory of Gibraltar is a place officials are considering, according to The Times, as well as the Isle of Man and other islands off the British coast.
Home secretary Priti Patel has sworn to stop migrants making the perilous journey across the English Channel and is expected to release details of plans to reform the UK asylum and immigration system.
It is understood that a white paper on proposals will be published in the “next few weeks”.
The Times said plans to be put in place will include a consultation on changing the law so that migrants seeking asylum can be sent to processing centers in third countries.
When asked about the report, Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News: “This is not an announcement from the Secretary of the Interior, it is speculation about the work he is doing and we will talk more in the next few weeks, go ahead.
“I cannot give you all the answers this morning, but it is extremely important that we have a strong immigration system and people who come to the country seeking asylum can do so safely.”
“We don’t want anyone’s life to be put at risk, we don’t want people to be in the hands of human traffickers.
“We have seen people, including young children, die making dangerous crossings across the English Channel.
“That is not something we want to see and therefore if there are better and safer ways to do it, then we should explore them and that is exactly what the Home Secretary is doing.”
The Home Secretary has vowed to prevent migrants from embarking on the dangerous journey across the English Channel.
Follow a series of leaks last year suggesting that the UK government was considering a series of offshore policies similar to those used in Australia.
These included sending asylum seekers to Ascension Island, more than 4,000 miles from the UK, to be processed, and turning disused ferries at sea into processing centers.
The ideas were dismissed by critics at the time as unworkable, while Labor condemned the suggestion of an asylum processing center on Ascension Island as “inhumane, completely impractical and outrageously expensive.”
The government believes that sending migrants to third countries for processing would comply with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), according to reports.
The Times said the new legislation will include life sentences for human smugglers and the establishment of migrant reception centers on government land, many of whom are currently housed in hotels.
An Interior Ministry source said: “As people die on dangerous journeys, we would be irresponsible if we did not consider all avenues.”
