Let refugees seek asylum safely, urge campaigners

LIVES would be saved and people smugglers ‘put out of business’ if the UK changed its approach by providing safe ways for refugees to claim asylum, charities have said.

Campaigners said the government’s own policies encourage dangerous crossings, including Wednesday’s tragedy which led to 27 deaths.

‘The issue is that these people want to claim UK asylum and they can’t do it unless they are physically present in the UK, and there is no way for them to get there other than sneaking on a boat,’ Clare Moseley, of Care4Calais, told BBC News yesterday.

‘So if we really want to change things, we need to give them a way to claim asylum without risking their lives, and that would put the people smugglers out of business.

‘If that’s what the government say they want, then that’s what we need to look at. They keep saying the same things and spending more money on security but it’s not working.’

That was echoed by Minnie Rahman, chief executive of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, who said: ‘The reality is you have to be on British soil before you can claim asylum. We are an island.

‘If the government closes down every safe route of entry to the UK, which they have done, then people will have no other choice. And the only people who will take advantage and will benefit are people smugglers.’

Migrant Help added: ‘We urge the government to look for a humane solution that enables people escaping danger to seek protection safely.’

Campaigners said possible solutions could include allowing refugees to make asylum applications to live in the UK while they are still in France or other countries – before then being granted safe passage by plane or ferry if they are successful.

According to Home Office figures, 61 per cent of those who come to the UK by boat are genuine refugees, and end up being allowed to stay.