The asylum system is broken. It’s time to rip it up and start again

With tough, decisive action the Government can take back control of the crisis in the Channel

It is a testament to the lack of seriousness with which many MPS are treating the crisis in the English Channel that, even as the number of people arriving illegally in Britain runs at more than a thousand a day, many have chosen to debate whether asylum seekers should be allowed the right to work.

Such a policy would be a disaster, and yet another “pull factor” that draws people to Britain. After all, the many thousands of people in France and across Europe who would like to come here are not fleeing persecution, for they are in safe countries already. They are, as the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has said, mostly economic migrants who choose to come to our country because of the opportunities they believe are on offer.

Britain is a draw for many reasons. The English language is the language of the world. We have many diaspora communities here, where newcomers can find help and fit in. And despite the self-flagellation of our liberal left, we are more tolerant, open-minded and less racist than perhaps any other European country.

Our economy, society and public services are more open than anywhere on the continent. We have no system of ID cards and no culture of registration with the authorities for administrative purposes. We have a deregulated labour market and a significant problem with illegal working in the black economy. We have public services that are free at the point of use, which do not require evidence of insurance payments, and will tend to health problems and educate children without asking too many questions and without sharing information with the immigration authorities.

All in all, it is little surprise that we have a problem with illegal immigration. We cannot know the number of illegal immigrants in Britain, but an idea of the country’s draw, and our inability to even understand the scale of our inadequate systems and policies, can be drawn from the numbers who came here using free movement rights during our EU membership. The authorities had believed 3.7million Europeans were living in the UK, but when the scheme allowing EU nationals to stay after Brexit opened, 5.6 million came forward.

So the draw is clear, but there is another factor, and that is the extreme difficulties we have in removing people with no right to be here. Advised by criminal people smugglers and activist lawyers and charities, illegal immigrants play the system and often beat the Government handsdown. When a visa runs out, sometimes the migrant claims asylum. Often migrants destroy their papers to make it difficult to prove their country of origin. Even with papers proving nationality, governments of home countries often deny responsibility for their citizens. Asylum claimants and illegal immigrants launch constant appeals, often at the last minute, and mostly citing human rights laws. Such laws mean the authorities give three days’ notice before a deportation takes place, causing many individuals to disappear. Coached defendants often claim to be homosexuals from homophobic countries, victims of modern slavery and pillars of their local community with an established family life in Britain.

Add all of this up and it becomes clear that tinkering and reforming the system will not do. We need a wholly new model, in which the genuinely needy get support, economic migrants no longer abuse the asylum system, migrants do not believe they can get to Britain illegally, and those who are here illegally are removed promptly.

The Government has made some tentative steps in this direction. It has spent generously in the countries surrounding states in crisis, like Syria and Afghanistan, and created specific asylum schemes for the most vulnerable. It has, starting under Labour and continuing through the Coalition and Conservative governments, attempted to make day-to-day life practically difficult for people who are in the country illegally.

But it has not yet gone the whole hog. Identity cards, or at least public service access cards, would help to distinguish between legal and illegal residents. Much tougher penalties – eye-watering fines, the closure of premises, directorship bans and even custodial sentences – for company executives who employ illegal immigrants and the landlords who house them would help. Appeal rights should be removed and human rights laws reformed. Countries who refuse to accept their own returning citizens should face visa restrictions.

In the end, offshore processing – when asylum applicants are held in another country or territory while their case is considered – is the best way to stop people trying to get to Britain to abuse the system. The Home Secretary appears sympathetic to the argument, but it will take time to identify where the processing should occur and to address legal complications that arise from human rights laws. If ministers could induce third countries to provide refuge for asylum seekers rather than Britain, that might prove faster. Internationally, the Refugee Convention – drafted in a different era and no longer fit for purpose – will need to be changed, and if we cannot change the European Convention on Human Rights, Britain should be prepared to leave it.

None of these solutions will fix the crisis in the Channel overnight. And ministers urgently need to find a solution. With a presidential election coming and strained relations overall, a deal with France to stem the flow might seem difficult. But similar agreements over refugee camps in Sangatte have been negotiated before, and the French must understand that the greater the number of migrants who are able to cross the Channel, the more will keep coming to France.

If a deal cannot be done, emergency legislation – introducing lengthy sentences in special immigration detention facilities for those who enter the country illegally, come from a safe country and refuse to leave Britain – should be introduced, notwithstanding legal obligations imposed by the Refugee Convention and European Convention on Human Rights.

This would be controversial, but in defiance of the criticism and taking on inevitable legal challenges, the Government must grip the situation, send a clear signal to the traffickers and illegal immigrants that the game is up, and stop the boats. Enough is enough.

Advised by criminal people smugglers and activist lawyers and charities, illegal immigrants play the system and often beat the Government hands-down