ASYLUM seekers could be flown to Ghana and Rwanda under UK government plans to deter migrant Channel crossings, it was claimed today.
Ministers are said to be drawing up proposals which would see people arriving illegally in the UK sent abroad for processing and resettlement.
Home Secretary Priti Patel and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss are in talks about ‘outsourcing’ the asylum process to other countries, according to The Times newspaper.
The arrangements would see the UK pay another nation to take on the responsibility but no country has so far agreed to do so.
It was reported in November last year that Albania was being considered as one potential destination but those talks are said to have collapsed.
Downing Street would not be drawn on the plans at as the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said it was ‘not helpful’ to discuss negotiations with countries, The Times reported.
‘This is a global challenge, it’s right we talk to international partners about how we fix the broken asylum system but I’m not going to get into the detail of those discussions,’ the spokesman said.
The move to ‘offshore’ the processing of migrants came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson activated Britain’s Armed Forces to tackle the small boat crossings crisis in the Channel.
The Rwanda and Ghana embassies in London have been contacted for comment.
