Boris Johnson Plans Tighter Laws to Stop Migrant Crossings
U.K.’s Boris Johnson Plans Tighter Laws to Stop Illegal Migrants
(Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson promised to re-write laws he says make it “very difficult” to deport migrants and asylum seekers ruled to have no right to stay in the U.K., as pressure builds on his government to stem the flow of small boats crossing the English Channel from France.
More than 4,000 people have reached the British coast this year by sea, and authorities intercepted four boats carrying 65 migrants on Sunday. The government sent a military surveillance aircraft to spot vessels attempting to make the journey on Monday.
Johnson pledged to work with the French government to tackle the “cruel and criminal gangs” responsible for transporting migrants across the Channel. The government must also “look at the legal framework that we have that means that when people do get here, it is very, very difficult to then send them away again,” Johnson told reporters on Monday.
Under the European Union’s Dublin Convention, refugees -- many if not most of whom are fleeing conflict or poverty in the Middle East -- are supposed to seek asylum in the first safe nation they enter. But many don’t, instead traveling on to other European countries. Thousands are camped in Calais at various times, seeking to reach the U.K. from countries including Syria and Iraq.
The number of attempted crossings typically rises in the summer to take advantage of calmer water in the English Channel.
Johnson’s spokesman, James Slack, called current EU laws “inflexible and rigid” and said the U.K. will be able to draw up new legislation when the Brexit transition period expires at the end of the year.
“We will ensure our status as an independent coastal state is properly protected,” Slack told reporters on a conference call on Monday. “The crossings which are taking place are completely unacceptable.”
Home Office minister Chris Philp will travel to Paris to meet his French counterpart on Tuesday, Slack said.
The U.K. wants France to stop more boats and take them back to French ports, while France seeks 30 million pounds ($39 million) to cover the cost, The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.
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