Call for reform of `shambolic' asylum system
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A JUMBO JET full of failed asylum-seekers will be deported every day from Britain unless radical steps are taken to strengthen the asylum system, the immigration minister said yesterday.
Mike O'Brien told the Home Affairs Select Committee that up to 110,000 asylum-seekers "would be due in some way for removal from the United Kingdom" by 2002 if numbers of applicants continued to rise and the present slow system of processing claims and removals was not radically reformed. "That's a 747 [aircraft] a day, which is clearly a very big problem."
He said the system was in such a "shambles" that 17,000 asylum-seekers had already "gone to ground" and were out of contact with immigration department officials.
But Mr O'Brien was forced to deny that his officials pursued a "culture of rejection" as he was questioned by Marsha Singh, the Labour MP for Bradford West. Mr Singh said two members of his family had been refused permission to come to Britain for a family wedding despite his assurance as an MP that they would return.
Mr O'Brien said officers deciding such applications often required "the wisdom of Solomon, and some of them are not Solomon. Some of them with the best will in the world will get things wrong."
Mr O'Brien refused to back down when told that people had been refused entry because officials did not believe their claims to belong to families with rights to live here. Mr Singh said DNA tests had subsequently shown that many of those refused had been telling the truth.
Earlier Mr O'Brien was at pains to stress that he did not wish to pursue an asylum policy that could be perceived as racist. He said that account should be taken of the benefits which immigrants brought to Britain, and genuine refugees should receive a favourable hearing.
The minister said the Government was seeking to improve the asylum system by reducing the two-stage appeal process to a single stage. Britain will also lobby other EU states later this month for reform of the Dublin Convention, which requires refugees to seek asylum in the first state in which they arrive, but is being widely flouted.
Mr O'Brien told MPs that there were 19,500 asylum claimants whose appeals have been exhausted and are waiting to be sent home. Another 23,000 were awaiting decisions on their appeals, while 51,000 were awaiting an initial ruling.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments