Dominic Raab today refused to deny ministers want to strike a deal with Albania to send Channel migrants to a new asylum centre there – but the country immediately dismissed the proposal as campaigners warned it could actually increase crossings.
The Deputy Prime Minister confirmed the government is looking at the idea of an overseas processing centre for migrants who travel to Britain illegally, but declined to comment on specific locations after Albania was named as the likely host.
Olta Xhaçka, the eastern European nation’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, insisted the idea was a non-starter and described it as ‘fake news’.
There is a lot of pressure on the British government to stop illegal crossings. They have already reached 20,000 in this year.
According to a new scheme, any person seeking asylum in Britain who arrived illegally in boats and dinghies would be flown into the new centre in seven days.
Today the Deputy Prime minister confirmed that government officials are considering the establishment of an overseas processing facility for immigrants who have illegally entered Britain.
A RNLI Dover lifeboat was launched just after 5.30am this morning at the request of the UK Coastguard in Dover to rescue a boat in distress
This comes just days after Channel migrants arriving in Britain were reported to have the ability to be quickly tracked to an Albanian off-shore processing center.
Quizzed about the offshore detention proposal this morning, Mr Raab suggested it could help reduce Britain’s ‘pull factor’.
LBC Radio spoke with him. It is better for migrants to move closer to their homes.
“But in order to decrease the flow to the UK, we will cooperate with all our partners. After looking at Australia’s experience, we have spoken with Danes and discussed this.
When asked if the plan would include Albania or Rwanda which were both named in media reports, the Deputy Prime minister said that he could not speak about specific countries, but that he was examining the issue with international partners. He stated: “We will test this idea, and we will make every effort to solve this problem.”
And pressed if the plan will cost £100,000 per migrant, he said: ‘I don’t recognise that number. Without a formal agreement, I do not believe we can cost the plan.
Nevertheless, some immigration advocates claim that offshore detention can be both inhumane and effective.
Bella Sankey, director of Detention Action, said: ‘In Australia, offshore detention was a $15.8 billion disaster that actually encouraged traffickers to overwhelm the system with more boat arrivals.
“The policy only resulted in the suffering of refugees kept in slumlike camps. A lack of surveillance led to many cases of child abuse, and even sexual assault.
The lifeboat crew stated that there were 23 others on the grey rib, which was 6 feet long and caught in rough seas. The helicopter was seen taking a person to the hospital in a rescue and recovery mission.
Ministers have been discussing the possibility of opening an asylum center in Eastern Europe. They believe it would be a deterrent to migrants coming from Northern France.
Enver Solomon was the Refugee Council chief executive.
“It is a huge tax burden for the taxpayer and will likely be ineffective at deterring people crossing the Channel.
“The government must urgently alter their approach and concentrate on creating safer routes to allow people to travel to Britain to seek asylum, such as the Humanitarian Visa System.”
Today Home Office officials confirmed that ‘around 1,000’ more migrants were detained by Border Force on Tuesday as the migrant crisis in the Channel continued, sparking concerns of another record breaking day.
Today, 23 migrants drowned in a Channel boat. A rescue lifeboat had to be launched.
Although official figures have not yet been released, it is possible that Tuesday’s figure could surpass the 1,185 mark set last Thursday when the crisis in the migration sector reaches its breaking point. Due to the large number of people arriving, it took two days for these figures to be calculated.
There were 853 crossings in the previous day.
This morning, an RNLI Dover lifeboat was launched just after 5.30am at the request of the UK Coastguard following reports of a grey dinghy in distress.
Rescue centre received a number of calls from 999 to request assistance. One call was for medical attention because a man aboard required it.
The lifeboat crew stated that there were 23 others on the grey, 6-foot-long rib which was out of control in rough seas. The helicopter that was seen flying to the rescue operation took one person to the hospital.
Coastguard spokesperson confirmed, “HM Coastguard coordinated a search-and-rescue response to an accident off Kent, working alongside Border Force and other partner.” Lydd RNLI lifeboat and Dover Coastguard helicopter were used to transport the coastguard helicopter.
The Home Office has confirmed that 66 migrants attempted to cross the Channel by three different boats, on Wednesday. French authorities stopped another 43 migrants from crossing the Channel in three smaller boats.