PRITI PATEL’S widely condemned pushback policy could shame the nation, a former director of public prosecutions has warned. 

Cross-bench peer Lord Macdonald of River Glaven said that proposals by the Home Secretary to turn around refugee boats in the Channel would probably be a “highly dangerous manoeuvre” risking damage, injury and even drowning. 

“Those who are familiar with the English Channel know that it is not a hospitable place,” the peer said. “And we all know the craft used by these refugees are flimsy and unseaworthy.