It’s not just Britain. Europe, too, has a refugee problem with which it is failing to cope, as do the US and other wealthy countries. Rishi Sunak’s new, £500m payment to French police to curb Channel crossings ignores this bigger picture. How does confining desperate, blameless people in yet another detention centre help anyone? Like the Tories’ Rwanda deportation scheme, it’s a crude, inhumane way to dodge moral and legal responsibility. It’s high time this government realised Channel crossings are but one tiny part of a global refugee crisis. Its focus should be on urgent, collaborative pan-European and international action.
About 46,000 people used small boats to seek asylum in Britain in 2022, up from 9,000 in 2020, according to the latest official data. That sharp rise came despite four previous, costly and ineffective deals with France. While the figures may appear large, they pale by comparison with the enormous challenge facing Europe as a whole. The number of asylum applications relative to UK population size remains well below the EU average. In the year ending June 2022, Britain offered asylum or protection to a mere 15,700 people.
