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players crossing the Channel will face a ban from claiming asylum in Britain under plans announced by the Home Secretary.
At the Conservative Party conference, Suella Braverman used her first major speech since taking up the role to set out the proposals.
The new laws – which go further than the Nationality and Borders Act, which came into force in June – will impose a blanket ban on anyone believed to be entering the UK illegally from seeking asylum.
The announcement marks the government’s latest attempt to curb the growing number of Channel crossings after its flagship policy of sending migrants on a one-way journey to Rwanda stalled due to legal challenges.
So far this year, more than 33,500 people have arrived in the UK after traveling from France.
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Ms Braverman told the Birmingham conference: “We need to stop boats crossing the English Channel. This went on too long.
“But I have to be honest with you: there are no quick fixes and the problem is chronic.”
She said the law was “simply not working” and the legislation was being “abused” by people smugglers, people making “multiple, baseless and last-minute claims” and – targeting lawyers – by “specialist law firms, chasing small boats,” adding, “This can’t go on.”
“Conference, I will commit to you today that I will seek to bring forward legislation to make it clear that the only way into the UK is through a safe and legal route… So if you deliberately enter the UK illegally from a safe country, you should be quickly repatriated or transferred to Rwanda. Your asylum application will be processed there.
Campaigners condemned the plan as further “attacks” on “genuine refugees” and described them as a “flagrant breach” of Britain’s international obligations under the Refugee Convention.
Clare Moseley, founder of refugee charity Care4Calais, said the proposal was “barbaric and unnecessary”, while claiming the government’s rhetoric about the Channel crossing was “simply false”.
“There is a mountain of evidence that the vast majority are genuine refugees; this criminalization of them is blatant victim-blaming of incredibly vulnerable people just to grab the headlines.
“Those who have fled the worst horrors of this world should not have to risk their lives again simply to claim asylum in the UK. The obvious answer is to give them safe passage. This will break the pattern of human traffickers and save lives.
“If this government really wanted to stop small boat crossings, it would offer safe passage to those with a viable asylum claim.”
Refugee Action chief executive Tim Naor Hilton said: “It is now clear that this Home Secretary only cares about keeping people out, not keeping them safe.
“Banning those crossing the Channel from claiming asylum is a flagrant breach of the international refugee laws that the UK proudly helped create.”
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International’s director of refugee and migrant rights in the UK, warned that declaring the country a “no-asylum zone would make the UK a beacon of lawlessness” and that the government’s behavior was “doing serious damage to the international reputation of the United Kingdom’. .
Steve Crawshaw, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Freedom from Torture, said “the inhumane plans clearly undermine the international rules put in place after the Holocaust which ensure that no one fleeing persecution is denied protection because of how they arrive in a given country.’
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, called the proposals “deeply worrying and out of step with the majority of the public who support granting protection to refugees”.
Setting out her intention to ensure UK immigration policy is not “derailed” by modern slavery laws, the Human Rights Act or the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), she also said she would “work closely cooperation with the French to get more out of our partnership”.
Ms Braverman told delegates she would allow “the kind of immigration that grows our economy”, but said: “We have all heard promises and promises, but this problem is complex and entrenched. And there are many forces working against us.
“The Labor Party will try to stop this. The Lib Dems will go bananas. The Guardian will collapse.
“As for the lawyers. Don’t get me wrong about the lawyers. I am also a recovering attorney.
In a conclusion that drew two standing ovations, cheers and applause from the audience, she pledged her “complete and unquestionable and unlimited and unconditional commitment to do whatever it takes,” adding: “It’s time to tackle the little boats – no ifs, no buts .”
Former Conservative chief whip Andrew Mitchell said her plan would only work if the UK struck a deal with France, telling BBC Radio 4’s World at One that Ms Braverman would have to “improve and repair the extremely fragile relationship , which exist between Boris (Johnson) and President Macron.”
Channel crossings continued on Tuesday after the Ministry of Defense (MoD) recorded 541 arrivals in nine boats on Monday. In September, 7,961 passed through the UK.
Prime Minister Liz Truss told GB News she wanted to “look at more deals outside of Rwanda” and make the policy “work”.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ms Braverman told a conference event that “I’d love to be here and claim victory, I’d love to be on the front page of the Telegraph with a plane going to Rwanda, that’s my dream , it’s my obsession.”
It would be “amazing” if the first flight could take off by Christmas, she said, but added: “To be honest, I think it will take longer.”
Appearing on the Chopper’s Politics podcast, she said her “ultimate aspiration” would be to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands, but declined to set a target for the next election.
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