Boris Johnson Considers Holding U.K. Asylum Applicants on Ships Offshore

(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government said it is considering setting up offshore holding centers to process people seeking asylum and refugee status in the U.K. Though the plan is not finalized, it triggered anger from human rights groups and opposition politicians.

What's the proposal?

People would be held on disused ferries moored off the coast while their applications are processed, according to a person familiar with the matter. Using islands off the British coast, possibly in Scotland, is another idea under consideration.

The latter drew an angry reaction from Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. “They can rest assured that any proposal to treat human beings like cattle in a holding pen will be met with the strongest possible opposition from me,” she said on Twitter on Thursday.

Any other ideas?

A suggestion to process applicants on decommissioned oil platforms in the North Sea was rejected by policy officials. They also looked at sending asylum seekers to Moldova, Morocco or Papua New Guinea for processing, and to the Atlantic islands of Ascension and St Helena, which are overseas British territories more than 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) away.

Another option, according to Friday's Financial Times, is to erect “marine fencing” -- walls that float -- in the English Channel to stop migrant boats arriving in Britain.

Why are ministers considering the measures?

The government says it wants to deter migrants making dangerous crossings from France to the U.K. in trucks and in dinghies. In February, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in the back of a truck, having died of lack of oxygen and overheating in an enclosed space, police said.

The National Crime Agency says smuggling gangs are now operating cut-price English Channel crossings by dangerously overcrowding small boats, while those who cannot afford them have resorted to using kayaks and even paddling pools. Unofficial figures suggest by the end of August 5,000 people had arrived, more than twice the number for the whole of 2019.

“What we are looking to do is to improve the asylum process,” Cabinet minister George Eustice told Sky News on Thursday. “We have got an unsustainable position at the moment with too many illegal crossings and we need a way to process those applications.”

Where did the idea come from?

Though it's not clear, it's notable that Tony Abbott, who oversaw Australia's immigration policy and offshore centers as prime minister and now advises Johnson's government on trade, recently met Home Secretary Priti Patel. A map of the English Channel could be seen in the background of a photograph of the two of them she posted on Twitter.

In the U.K., the issue has become a campaigning issue for anti-immigration politicians, including Brexit party leader Nigel Farage.

Does Johnson back it?

The prime minister has often expressed his views on migration in softer tones. As recently as last July, during his first House of Commons appearance as premier, Johnson said Britain should examine the “economic advantages and disadvantages” of allowing an amnesty for migrants living illegally in the country.

What do voters want?

Patel has pledged to make the route between France and Britain “unviable” and accused “leftie-supporting lawyers” of exploiting the system to keep refugees and asylum seekers in the country. A YouGov Plc snap poll on Wednesday found 62% of Tory voters and 40% of voters overall thought sending asylum seekers to British overseas territories is a good idea.

Why now?

Patel is due to address Tory grassroots members on Sunday during the party's annual conference. At a time when Johnson's poll lead over the opposition Labour Party is slipping, it's an opportunity to show supporters the government is being tough on issues that matter to them.

What has the reaction been?

A snap YouGov poll showed 62% of Conservative voters thought placing an offshore center on Ascension is a “good idea,” but only 22% of Labour voters. “The Tories are lurching from one inhumane and impractical idea to another,” Labour's home affairs spokesman Nick Thomas-Symonds said in a statement.

Human rights groups including Refugee Action also condemned the plan.

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