Interior Ministry accused of ‘nurturing’ voters with ‘unworkable’ asylum policies

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The Home Office has been accused of “underestimating voter intelligence” with “impractical” policies that it claims will reduce the number of migrants entering the UK by crossing the Channel.

Two former ministers were among those who criticized the department for putting forward “seems contrived” plans to limit arrivals by sea into the UK, while the home secretary, Priti Patel, is accused of “making it up going forward”.

Proposed plans include processing asylum seekers abroad, despite claims that the policy will not work in practice.

Government proposals leaked to the media on Thursday indicated that ministers were in discussions with Albania for a deal under which asylum seekers who crossed the canal would be transferred to the eastern European country, 1,500 miles away, for processing.

Justice Minister Dominic Raab refused to deny ministers’ hope for such an agreement, stressing that discussions were underway to remove the migrants within seven days of their arrival in Britain.

However, within hours of the leak being published, the Albanian ambassador to the UK, Kirjako Kirko, told The Independent that the reports were “completely false” and that such an arrangement would “never happen” as it would be “in violation of international law”.

This is the latest in a series of proposals made by the UK government, which aims to reduce the number of people entering the UK by crossing the Channel in small boats, which later turned out to be unworkable.

In March, it was reported that ministers planned to deal with asylum seekers in Gibraltar and in the islands off the Scottish coast – which the two governments soon deemed incorrect. In June, it was reported that Rwanda was being used as an offshore processing center – but it soon emerged that the country had not agreed to such a policy.

David Davis, who served as the Conservative’s shadow immigration minister from 2003 to 2008, told The Independent he believed his party was “underestimating the intelligence of voters” by introducing “impractical” policies – describing them as “caring”.

“My feeling is that it comes from the young policy advisors at No 10, who took a focus group or a ballot and tried to translate that into a seemingly very manly policy. My experience with manhood politics is [that] Oftentimes, they make mistakes,” he said.

I think they assume that voters are more hard-line, in the sense that they are less aware of the problems. Never underestimate your constituents “very good wisdom in the field.”

The politician, who introduced an amendment to the Citizenship and Borders Bill that would drop a clause allowing UK asylum seekers abroad, added that the government’s “very tough and strong language” about the canal crossings “added to the scale of political problems”.

It comes from the belief that it is politically useful, but it begins with populist politics rather than carefully considering it. Indeed, he said, such a policy would be costly and ineffective.

Lord David Blunkett, who served as Home Secretary between 2001 and 2004 under Tony Blair, said Home Secretary Priti Patel was “making it up as she went” when it came to asylum policies.

“In one breath, the Albanian community here is denigrated as organized criminals who must be sent back to their country, and in the next moment, you expect the Albanian government to act as a transit camp to turn away asylum seekers,” he said.

“All of these ideas were explored 20 years ago, and none of them were added to a practical or coherent plan; a lack of commitment to international agreements.”

A former senior immigration official in the Interior Ministry, who did not want to be named, called Albania’s latest proposal “totally impractical and funny”.

“It’s the headlines. I can’t help but feel that the people at the Home Office are either completely stupid or they just know it won’t work. In the end it makes them look stupid,” he said.

“He comes up with crazy proposals that try to push the story in their favour for a week or so and then cause them more problems in the long run. It’s complete and absolute insanity. It’s impractical, and I can’t believe people don’t know it’s not going to work.”

“I suppose it satisfies some of their deputies, but they are certainly bright enough to realize that it is impractical.”

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Patel claimed France was “overwhelmed” by a “mass migration crisis” that she blamed on “open Schengen borders” across Europe.

“Let’s not forget that the real problem with illegal immigration flows is that the EU has absolutely no border protection – Schengen opens the borders,” she said.

“I think it’s fair to say that [France] soaked. this is the truth.

“When you think of streams, what do they do? They patrol the beaches [but] I’m going to keep the numbers so big that they’ve got enough resources? We are constantly putting pressure on France on this.”

A Home Office spokesperson said it was right to keep all options on the table for future consideration, adding: “The migrants who make these dangerous crossings are putting their lives at risk, and it is imperative that we do everything we can to stop them, and break the business model of criminal gangs exploiting people.”

“People should seek asylum in the first safe country they reach, and as part of our response it is important that we have a naval deterrent in the Canal and work with international partners to put an end to these dangerous journeys.”

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