Latest editorial
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.
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
