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Downing Street has effectively confirmed that it is exploring the idea of an Australian-style asylum system where all applicants would be processed in camps outside the UK, saying it is examining what other countries are doing to deter unofficial sea crossings.
When asked about a plan, first reported by the Financial Times, to potentially send asylum seekers to the South Atlantic for processing, the number 10 downplayed the destination, but did not question the idea of processing centers in abroad.
Australia has been widely criticized by human rights groups for its system of mandatory detention for asylum seekers inside camps in places like Nauru while the lengthy process of examining applications is under way.
When asked about the idea of the UK doing this, Boris Johnson’s spokesman said the UK has a “long and proud history” of accepting asylum seekers, but must act, especially in light of the migrants who cross unofficially from France in small boats.
“As ministers have said, we are developing plans to reform policies and laws around illegal migration and asylum to ensure that we can provide protection to those in need, while preventing abuse of the system and associated crime he said. He said.
“We are developing plans to reform our illegal migration and asylum policies so that we can continue to provide protection to those in need, while preventing abuse of the system and crime.
“As part of this work, we have been looking at what many other countries are doing to inform a plan for the UK. And that work is in progress. “
He added: “It is very important that people are discouraged from taking life-threatening trips and seeking asylum in the first safe country they arrive in.”
No 10 sources downplayed the potential use of Ascension and St Helena, two remote islands in the South Atlantic that are UK territory, as processing centers.
On Tuesday night, when the idea came up, Interior Ministry sources said Priti Patel, the interior secretary, had sought advice on how other countries handle asylum claims. This included asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for ideas, and among those raised were “implausible.”
Patel is expected to address the issue of Canal crossings by migrants in a speech to the Conservative party conference on Sunday, and has repeatedly vowed to detain those arriving in the country by boat.
He has asked the Royal Navy to help cope with the growing number of small vessels and has appointed a former Royal Marine, Dan O’Mahoney, to the role of “Channel Underground Threat Commander.”
In August, he said the number of crossings was “shocking and unacceptably high”, adding: “I am working to make this route unviable.”
