Observations

Double standards are being applied by critics of Priti Patel’s attempt to stop the boat migrants

Four years ago there were fewer than 300 illegal migrants arriving in Britain by boat. Last year it was over 28,000. Something has to be done, as the UK Government payments to France to stop them setting off from their shores and apprehending the human traffickers has not prevented the migrant numbers increasing. Nor has it prevented the appalling deaths at sea.

It’s necessary to be clear: this is a French and EU problem

In all the outrage expressed by people such as the Archbishop of Canterbury, one essential fact is missing. The tens of thousands of illegal migrants are coming from France – a safe country.

In order to reach France, illegal migrants have to enter the EU and then cross internal borders. Some travel through Spain, many come up through Greece and Italy. All of these countries are safe havens for genuine refugees.

The Rwanda deterrent

The concept of moving the predominently young, single, male ‘boat people’ to Rwanda is a technical solution that might offer some success at stopping the traffickers. It means the illegal immigrants can at last be deported even if they have destroyed their identity documents. Without identity documents it is practically impossible to get the countries of origin to accept the illegal immigrants are theirs.

It worked for Australia, why not for the UK?

Typically the scheme has come in for a great deal of criticism and yet it enjoys popular support from the public - 47% for versus 26% against, according to a Savanta Com Res poll.

The scheme did not require Brexit to be possible – as the development of a similar scheme by the left-wing Danish Government has shown. It is, however unlikely the UK would have shown the political will to go ahead with the scheme were the UK still in the EU.

It remains to be seen whether it will work but no-one else seems to have any workable and legal ideas. Simply turning inflatable craft around risks more fatalities as well as an international incident and possible national humiliation.

In the main, the most vociferous critics are believers of completely open borders and should be disregarded as an extreme minority. Then we have the lawyers who have benefited hugely from the public purse. Once the “refugees” see they are spending money on a one-way ticket to Rwanda, the traffickers may have a problem selling seats on their boats.

Only time will tell – if the whole enterprise isn’t scuppered by our courts and the EU’s Convention on Human Rights, of course…

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