Patel’s new asylum plans will break international law, UN refugee agency warns
UNHCR says the Home Secretary's plans will cause ‘significant suffering’ to people seeking refuge in Britain
Home Secretary Priti Patel
by Bethany Rielly: @b_rielly
PRITI PATEL’S new asylum plans would break international law and cause “significant suffering” to people seeking refuge in Britain, the UN refugee agency warned MPs today.
As it stands, the Home Secretary’s new Border Bill is “unworkable” and will keep refugees in a “situation of enforced precarity for up to 10 years,” the UNHCR said.
The reforms, introduced by the government to deter refugee crossings, seek to make it a criminal offence to arrive in Britain without permission, punishable by up to four years in prison.
More from this author
In an exclusive investigation, BETHANY RIELLY looks at how the state targeted leading politicians and campaigning groups — labelling many well-known figures 'extremists' and 'subversives' for attempting to hold the police to account
On September 4, 16 Eritrean asylum-seekers were arrested at a protest against their country’s dictatorship and its supporters here. Since then, questions have been raised about whether the British authorities are doing enough to protect activists and asylum-seekers from the ‘long arm’ of the regime in Asmara
