Patel Vows Overhaul of ‘Fundamentally Broken’ U.K. Asylum System

(Bloomberg) -- Home Secretary Priti Patel will announce the biggest overhaul of the U.K.'s “fundamentally broken” asylum system in decades as the government tries to push on with a domestic agenda crippled by the pandemic.

Patel will use a speech at the online Conservative Party conference on Sunday to set out what she calls a “firm and fair” immigration approach, according to her office, after it emerged last week that ministers are examining whether to process asylum seekers in offshore holding centers.

The proposals include holding people on disused ferries moored off the coast, or sending them to the Atlantic islands of Ascension and St. Helena, which are overseas British territories more than 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) away.

The news provoked a backlash this week from opposition politicians and human rights group. Labour peer Alf Dubs, who arrived in the U.K. as a child refugee from the Nazis, warned on Thursday that the plans were “ridiculous” and would “stir up tensions in the community.”

Read more: Refugee Champion Dubs Slams U.K.'s Offshore Asylum Proposals

In a speech to Tory grassroots members, Patel will insist the U.K. will always “provide sanctuary” to those who need help but that there are “moral, legal, practical problems” with the current system. The government has complained the process takes too long and that it's too difficult to deport people whose asylum applications have been refused.

The party conference gives the government an opportunity to show it's being tough on issues that matter to Tory supporters, at a time when Johnson's poll lead over the opposition Labour Party is shrinking.

Patel will pledge a system that is “fair and compassionate toward those who need our help,” according to extracts of the speech. “But firm because we will stop the abuse of the broken system. Firm, because we will stop those who come here illegally making endless legal claims to remain. And firm, because we will expedite the removal of those who have no claim for protection.”

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