Julian supports David Davis’ lobbying efforts on Albanian migrants
December 1, 2022
Julian joined 49 Conservative MPs in backing David Davis’ letter to the Prime Minister proposing a solution to the issue of Albanian migrants illegally crossing the English Channel.
He believes the Government need to take strong action to return Albanian migrants swiftly as they make a mockery of genuine asylum seekers and undermine our immigration system.
Julian will support David Davis is any parliamentary activity to further this objective.
The text of the letter:
“We are writing to you with what we believe to be a straightforward proposal to dramatically mitigate the migrant crisis currently gripping the country. The policy would require urgent parliamentary time and, as such, would need to be driven forward from the very heart of government.
The Channel migrant issue is a Gordian Knot that needs cutting with a simple policy. We must tackle the -bogus asylum seekers making the dangerous journey across the Channel. Many are economic migrants travelling from safe countries.
We believe there is a simple solution – return them to the safe countries from which they came much more rapidly than we currently do.
Other European countries, such as Sweden, are able to reject 100% of Albanian “asylum seekers” on this summary basis, and they are a widely respected country who are ECHR members, so it should be possible without triggering international legal difficulties.
Secondly, we should apply some common-sense rules to people claiming they have been unwilling victims of human trafficking or modem slavery.
The most obvious thing to do with such cases would be to return these people to their homes in the villages from which they came – if they have really been taken against their will, then they could not reasonably object to being returned to their own homes.
The quirks in our modem slavery laws that prevent this are clearly in defiance of the aims of that law, and should be removed.
In the specific case of Albanian migrants, this would be a very strong deterrent. For example, suppose a man from a small Albanian village has paid thousands of pounds to be willingly trafficked to the UK, only to be returned directly back to his village. In that case, it immediately removes any appeal of making the journey in the first place for other people in the same neighbourhood.
These changes would immediately take a great deal of pressure off our immigration system and would make the problem more manageable for Ministers. These proposals have been tested with an eminent public lawyer, who was of the opinion that they will provide a workable solution.
This is one of the genuine occasions where there is a need for the Bill to be introduced as emergency legislation. It also needs to be a simple one page Bill, avoiding a protracted back and forth on the matter. We are seeking to change two current weaknesses in our existing legislation, and simplicity is vital.
Rapidly implementing these changes will avoid a situation where the Government’s plan becomes clear to the people smugglers profiteering from human misery, leading to an increase in crossings before their window of opportunity closes.
These are just two solutions to a thorny and complex issue. Of course, the Government may want to return with a wider set of measures aimed at reducing crossings from migrants from other countries, and to support more successful removals to safe third countries in future.
In the absence of emergency legislation, we would encourage the Government to explore non-legislative options to deliver the same ends, drawing on Albania’s existing commitments as a signatory of the European Convention Against Trafficking in Human Beings
These proposals are a straightforward and legally workable way of addressing the crisis in the Channel. They would save lives, be fair on genuine asylum seekers and protect the interest of residents living in areas currently facing extreme pressure from the thousands of migrants coming to our country.
