The Home Office has been accused of “blaming” asylum seekers after launching an electronic tagging scheme for refugees arriving in the UK.
Ministers have faced calls to abandon the “farce of politics” following suggestions that those who have recently avoided being sent to Rwanda following a lawsuit may be among the first to be marked under the program.
According to a 12-month pilot scheme that began last week, some of those arriving aboard small boats from France or in the back of trucks will be marked. The interior ministry said the process would test whether electronic surveillance could help maintain regular contact with migrants and help advance their claims. It will also collect data on how many people are hiding from an immigration guarantee.
Critics, however, said there was no evidence that asylum seekers were fleeing. Claire Mosley, founder of the charity Care4Calais, said: “I think it’s scandalous. In principle, refugees do not hide. There is no evidence that they are doing it – they have never done it. They are here to seek asylum, so why should they? They are not criminals, they are victims. Things happen to them. They did not cause it. It’s just another part of the government criminalizing refugees, which is basically blaming the victims. “
Boris Johnson defended the plans on Saturday. He said it was important that people entering the country did not “disappear” from the system. “This is a very, very generous, hospitable country,” he said. “Also. I’m proud of that, but when people come here illegally, when they break the law, it’s important to make that distinction. We are doing this with our policy in Rwanda. ”
Stephen Kinnock, the shadow immigration minister, said the policy was “another desperate attempt to divert public attention from the fact that asylum decisions have fallen, the backlog has widened and they are failing miserably.” deal with criminal gangs. ” Labor leader Keir Starmer has accused the government of “pursuing headlines”.
Alistair Carmichael, a Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: “Conservative ministers are in complete confusion on this issue. The stench of incompetence is unbearable. It’s almost like a determined effort to waste as much taxpayer money as possible. Every day they break the great British tradition of treating people with respect. It’s time to dump her and move on. “
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