Labour MPs Diane Abbott, Harry Cohen and Jeremy Corbyn join hunger-striking refugees aboard the British government immigrant detention prison ship, the Earl William at the port of Harwich, Essex
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A COMMUNITY leader who campaigned for the closure of a prison ship for asylum-seekers in the 1980s urged the government today to learn the lessons of the past.
Ministers are giving “serious consideration” to the idea of converting retired ferries into refugee-processing centres, according to reports in the Times.
But this isn’t the first time that incarcerating asylum-seekers on ships has been suggested. The idea was put into practice in 1986 when the government rented a ferry called the Earl Williams to house dozens of detainees.
Britain’s proud asylum history, from sheltering the Kindertransport escaping Hitler to Basque children fleeing fascist Spain, required tireless campaigning against persistent opposition — and it’s up to all of us to do our part today, writes SABINA PRICE
