Chemical attack exposes the deep rot eating away at border security

Our asylum system has been turned against the British people. A wave of outrage and anger has swept across the nation at the appalling Clapham alkaline attack. It is a damning indictment of where we are as a country that few can say they were shocked.

We’ve seen this sorry story before. It was not so long ago, in November 2021, when an illegal migrant, granted asylum after fraudulently claiming to have converted to Christianity, blew himself up outside a maternity hospital.

Information is still emerging, but this case already raises serious questions for everyone in positions of authority. Why was Abdul Shokoor Ezedi, the lead suspect, not prevented from entering illegally in the first place back in 2016? Why was he not instantly removed after he committed sexual assault, as per Home Office guidance? And why did an immigration judge ultimately grant him asylum on a wafer-thin claim and despite the Home Office’s repeated protestations?

At each stage the asylum system privileged the rights of an illegal immigrant, who committed serious crimes, over the fundamental right of the British public to feel safe and secure in their communities.

As we have come to expect in the aftermath of an attack like this, few of these important questions have been confronted. Those on the Left have preferred to bury their heads in the sand. The shadow home secretary didn’t consider the attack important enough to comment. Nor did Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader – a man who has spent his careers inside and outside of politics frustrating removals of serious criminals just like Ezedi.

Most on the Left cowardly tiptoed around the elephant in the room: his immigration status. The persistent disdain this man showed towards women and girls is in fact a story of the global patriarchy, they argued.

It is simply common sense to point out that someone is statistically far more likely to hold extreme misogynistic views if they are from countries like Afghanistan, where women are second class citizens, than the UK where we have made greater strides than nearly any other country at achieving gender equality.

Others attempted to play off the attack as unremarkable, situating it as part of a concerning increase in chemical attacks.

They argue most migrants seeking asylum are law-abiding. This is only true if you completely ignore the serious criminal offence of illegal entry they have all committed by breaking into this country from the safety of France.

Probe these important questions and the deep rot that has eaten away at our border security becomes clear. That Ezedi managed to enter the UK on the back of a lorry from Afghanistan is a reflection of the complete failure of the EU to enforce their borders and the flaws in UK-France cooperation.

The lesson is to legislate for human nature, not a well-meaning but naive assumption of good faith. Strong border control is not cruel – as we keep seeing time after time – it’s a prerequisite of a safe society.

This case can be a watershed moment. Either you want this tragic farce to end, and are willing to pursue the tough measure necessary, or you don’t. I know what side I’m on.