Around 8,000 British Army troops will conduct a series of planned exercises across Europe this summer in one of the largest deployments since the Cold War.
The exercises will see 72 Challenger 2 tanks, 12 AS90 tracked artillery guns and 120 Warrior armoured fighting vehicles deploy to countries from Finland to North Macedonia, demonstrating the Army’s modernisation into a lethal, agile and global force.
Tens of thousands of troops from NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies and partners are involved in the exercises. The high readiness forces from the Lead Armoured Task Force and Air Manoeuvre Task Force will take part.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “The security of Europe has never been more important. These exercises will see our troops join forces with allies and partners across NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force in a show of solidarity and strength in one of the largest shared deployments since the Cold War.
“Operating across Europe, the British Army will stand alongside partners, combining our capabilities and shared values, promoting peace and security.”
The programme follows the Defence Secretary’s ‘Future Soldier’ announcement last November, setting out how the British Army is evolving into a more lethal, agile, and global force in line with the UK Government’s Integrated Review. These exercises showcase the Army’s capabilities and readiness, demonstrating the central role it plays in NATO deterrence.
Troops from B Squadron of the Queen’s Royal Hussars have deployed to Finland this week to take part in Exercise Arrow.
They will be embedded into a Finnish Armoured Brigade, with participation from other partners including the US, Latvia and Estonia. The exercise will improve the ability of UK and Finnish troops to work alongside each other as part of the JEF, deterring Russian aggression in Scandinavia and the Baltic states.
In May, Exercise Hedgehog will see the Royal Welsh Battlegroup and the Royal Tank Regiment exercising on the Estonia-Latvia border alongside 18,000 NATO troops, including French and Danish, who are part of the British-led NATO enhanced Forward Presence. Hedgehog is the biggest military exercise in Estonia and takes place every four years.
Commander Field Army Lieutenant General Ralph Wooddisse said:“The UK makes a significant contribution to the defence of Europe and the deterrence of Russian aggression. The British Army’s series of exercises is fundamental to both.
“We continue to deploy across Europe, from the Baltic to the Aegean, to train and fight alongside our allies and partners, providing powerful, capable and ready forces to support NATO and show the UK’s commitment to peace and security.
A wide range of units from the Field Army will be involved, from light and airborne forces, to helicopters and armoured forces, supported by artillery, electronic warfare, air defence, surveillance drones, engineers and logisticians. The scale of the deployment, coupled with the professionalism, training and agility of the British Army, will deter aggression at a scale not seen in Europe this century.”
Alongside Exercise Hedgehog, Exercise Defender in Poland is ongoing until late May, with 1,000 soldiers from the King’s Royal Hussars Battlegroup and C Squadron of the Light Dragoons deployed alongside troops from 11 partner nations including Poland, Denmark and the United States.
This exercise involves Challenger 2 tanks and other armoured vehicles deploying from the NATO Forward Holding Base in Sennelager, Germany. The deployment is supported by 104 Theatre Sustainment Brigade operating from the UK and in bases in Europe.
Exercise Swift Response, which also began this week, sees elements of 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team and 1 Aviation Brigade Combat Team operate alongside French, American, Italian, and Albanian counterparts in North Macedonia.
There are 4,500 personnel on the exercise including 2,500 British troops. The exercise involves parachute drops, helicopter-borne air assaults and sees a company of French paratroopers integrated into the 2 Parachute Regiment Battlegroup and an Italian battlegroup working to a British chain of command.
These exercises showcase the scale and significance of the British Army’s contribution to the defence of Europe and highlight the continued importance of the leadership role which UK plays as a member of NATO and the JEF.
In addition to the Army’s programme, the UK will deploy a major headquarters to the Baltic region, in support of the JEF. The Standing Joint Force HQ (SJFHQ) will establish three linked nodes – in Latvia, Lithuania and the third at their home base at Northwood HQ in London, the first operational deployment for the headquarters.
The UK is the framework nation for the JEF, a coalition of like-minded partners, able to respond rapidly to crises in the High North, North Atlantic, Baltic Sea region and further afield. Over 200 military personnel are involved in the operation, including specialists in cyber, space and information operations.
UK is sending more ambulances and fire engines to Ukraine as part of continued support to the country
New UK funding to help train Ukrainian doctors to deal with mass casualties and vital medicine following Russian attacks on Ukrainian hospitals
Donations are in response to a request from Ukraine’s Government as they regain access to medical facilities in frontline cities
New ambulances, fire engines, funding for health experts and life-saving medical supplies are being donated to Ukraine as part of the UK’s continued steadfast solidarity with the country, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced today (Tuesday 26 April).
There have been more than 130 attacks on healthcare facilities since the invasion and the UN has recorded around 4,800 civilian casualties. More than 100 fire stations and 250 fire engines have been destroyed in Ukraine.
The UK is supplying 22 new ambulances to Ukraine – in addition to those from NHS Trusts already announced – equipped with paramedic kits and medical grab bags. They are due to leave for Ukraine in the coming days. This is in direct response to a request from the Ukrainian government.
Two further convoys of more than 40 fire engines – packed with thousands of items of rescue equipment including 300 fire hoses and almost 10,000 items of protective clothing – have arrived in Ukraine and are already providing vital support to firefighters on the frontline. This is the largest fire deployment to ever leave the UK.
The UK has already committed up to $1 billion in loan guarantees to support Multilateral Development Banks, such as the World Bank, to bolster Ukraine’s economy and allow the government in Kyiv to continue providing basic services. The total offer of humanitarian support to the current Ukraine crisis is around £400 million.
This goes alongside the Prime Minister’s commitment to continue to provide defensive military aid, including protected mobility vehicles, drones and anti-tank weapons to Ukraine – reiterated on a call to President Zelenskyy on the weekend.
Last week the Prime Minister announced Ukrainian personnel are being trained in the use of armoured vehicles in the United Kingdom.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “We have all been appalled by the abhorrent images of hospitals deliberately targeted by Russia since the invasion began over two months ago.
“The new ambulances, fire engines and funding for health experts announced today will better equip the Ukrainian people to deliver vital health care and save lives.
“Together with our military support, we will help to strengthen Ukraine’s capability to make sure Putin’s brutal invasion fails.”
Frontline medical aid charity, UK-Med, will receive funding – worth up to £300,000 – from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to help train Ukrainian doctors, nurses and paramedics on how to deal with mass casualties.
They will also set up mobile health clinics to support the most vulnerable civilians remaining in Ukraine, including the elderly and young children.
The UK is also donating £300,000 worth of medicines and pharmaceutical supplies to UK-Med which could support a hospital for up to six weeks.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “The Kremlin continues to lie about deliberate attacks on Ukraine’s hospitals and the indiscriminate targeting of civilians.
“Now our vital humanitarian support will help save lives and deliver medical expertise to the frontline.”
Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “I was privileged to be able to visit Ashford and meet the volunteers and civil servants behind the fire aid shipments to Ukraine.
“This aid demonstrates the tremendous practical work that Britain’s public servants are doing for the people of Ukraine, and is an example of the good-heartedness of the British people and their determination to help.”
More than five million medical items have also been donated to Ukraine including wound packs, intensive care equipment and medicines.
At the beginning of March, UK-Med launched a national fundraising appeal to fund its work in Ukraine and has sent 26 doctors, nurses, paramedics, surgeons and humanitarian health programme specialists to the country.
UK-Med CEO David Wightwick who’s currently in Eastern Ukraine said: “I’ve seen with my own eyes the devastating impact of this cruel war. Ensuring the more than 7 million internally displaced people across the country have access to vital primary health care is and will continue to be of the upmost importance for many months to come.
“This very welcome funding from the UK government will enable us to continue to deliver primary health care and lifesaving specialist clinical training in both the east and the west of the country, reaching those who need it most.
“We’re proud to stand in solidarity with the people and with our Ukrainian medical colleagues in this desperate time.”
Materials barred from high-risk buildings over 11 metres
Legislation to improve fire safety and boost Scotland’s Net Zero ambitions has been laid before the Scottish Parliament.
Under the legislation, developers will be banned from using combustible cladding on high-rise buildings. Since 2005, new cladding systems on high rise blocks of flats have either had to use non-combustible materials or pass a large-scale fire test.
The building standards legislation removes the option of a fire test, completely prohibiting such materials from use on domestic and other high-risk buildings, such as care homes and hospitals, above 11m.
The highest risk metal composite cladding material will be banned from any new building of any height, with replacement cladding also required to meet the new standards.
The legislation also includes improvements to energy performance standards, aiming to make buildings easier to heat while ensuring they are well ventilated and comfortable to live in.
Building Standards Minister Patrick Harvie said: “This is the third set of changes made to fire safety standards for cladding in Scotland since the tragic Grenfell Tower Fire, requiring any cladding on domestic or other high risk buildings above 11m to be strictly non-combustible.
“Taken together with our new fire alarms regulations, covering all homes in Scotland regardless of ownership, this is yet another step on the Scottish Government’s mission to minimise the risk of deaths and injuries from fire.
“The energy improvements will deliver another important step toward improved energy and emission performance of our buildings, and we’ll be going further on this in 2024 with regulations requiring new buildings to use zero-emissions heating systems.”
Changes to requirements on fire safety of cladding systems will be introduced on 1 June 2022, while improvements to energy and environmental standards will apply from 1 October 2022.
The changes have been brought in following public consultations in 2021 on the fire safety of cladding systems and on energy and environmental standards.
Supporting Technical Handbooks, which set out the full detail of changes, will be published from the start of May.
The combustible cladding ban will apply to all buildings with a storey 11m or more above the ground, and which contain:
a dwelling
a building used as a place of assembly
or as a place of entertainment or recreation
a hospital
a residential care building or sheltered housing complex or a shared multi-occupancy residential building.
MPs back TUC’s calls for asbestos removal from public buildings
On Thursday, MPs backed calls from the TUC for all asbestos to be removed from public and commercial buildings.
Westminster’s Work and Pensions Select Committee published a report from its inquiry into asbestos management in which it cites TUC calls for stronger asbestos removal.
Asbestos remains the biggest cause of work-related deaths in the UK according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), with 5,000 deaths recorded in 2019. And Britain has the highest rates of mesothelioma cases in the world.
Asbestos is classed as carcinogenic, which means it can cause cancer and other serious lung conditions when fibres are inhaled.
According to figures from the HSE asbestos is still found in around 300,000 non-domestic buildings despite a ban on the use of the substance in new buildings in 1999.
Committee report
The new report by MPs cites concerns that the likely dramatic increase in retrofitting of buildings in response to net zero ambitions means that more asbestos-containing material will be disturbed in the coming decades.
The TUC says current asbestos management is not fit for purpose and has long called for new legislation requiring removal of all asbestos from public buildings.
Today MPs have called for a 40-year deadline to remove all asbestos from public and commercial buildings. The TUC welcomes the news but says a 40-year deadline is not ambitious enough.
The report also calls for more funding for the HSE to support this increased programme of work.
Asbestos dangers
There is no safe threshold of exposure to asbestos fibres – inhalation even of small quantities can lead to mesothelioma decades after exposure.
This means that where asbestos is still present, it is not safe to assume there will be no disturbances that put working people in danger.
The only way we will eradicate mesothelioma in Britain is with a legal duty to safely remove asbestos, and a clear timetable for its eradication. Only then can we ensure that future generations will not have to experience the same deadly epidemic from asbestos-related diseases that we suffer today.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Everyone should be safe at work. Asbestos exposure at work continues to cause thousands of deaths every year. Asbestos is still with us in workplaces and public buildings across the country. As a result, more than 22 years after the use of asbestos was banned, hundreds of thousands of workers are still put at risk of exposure every day.
“The only way to protect today’s workers and future generations is through the safe removal of asbestos from all workplaces and public buildings.
“Today’s report by MPs is welcome, but a 40-year deadline isn’t ambitious enough: hundreds of thousands of workers risk dangerous exposure in that time. Ministers must commit to removing all asbestos to keep future generations safe.”
PM will meet Narendra Modi in New Delhi today for high-level talks on defence, diplomacy and trade
UK will work with India to boost security in the Indo-Pacific, including new fighter jet technology, helicopters and collaboration in the undersea battlespace
PM will also discuss new cooperation on clean and renewable energy
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will reiterate the vital importance of the UK-India partnership for global peace and security, as he visits New Delhi today [Friday].
He is expected to discuss next-generation defence and security collaboration across the five domains – land, sea, air, space and cyber – in meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as our nations face complex new threats.
This includes support for new Indian-designed and built fighter jets, offering the best of British know-how on building battle-winning aircraft. The UK will also seek to support India’s requirements for new technology to identify and respond to threats in the Indian Ocean.
To support greater defence and security collaboration with India over the coming decade, the UK will issue an Open General Export Licence (OGEL) to India, reducing bureaucracy and shortening delivery times for defence procurement. This is our first OGEL in the Indo-Pacific region.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “The world faces growing threats from autocratic states which seek to undermine democracy, choke off free and fair trade and trample on sovereignty.
“The UK’s partnership with India is a beacon in these stormy seas. Our collaboration on the issues that matter to both our countries, from climate change to energy 2security and defence, is of vital importance as we look to the future.
“I look forward to discussing these issues with Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi today and working together to deliver a more secure and prosperous future for both our peoples.”
The Prime Minister will also discuss new cooperation on clean and renewable energy in his meetings in New Delhi today, aimed at supporting India’s energy transition away from imported oil and increasing its resilience through secure and sustainable energy, and addressing climate change in both the UK and India.
The UK and India are launching a virtual Hydrogen Science and Innovation hub to accelerate affordable green hydrogen, as well as new funding for the Green Grids Initiative announced at COP26, and collaboration on joint work on the electrification of public transport across India.
As well as boosting our domestic energy and economic resilience, the UK and India are collaborating as a force for good globally. The governments are committing up to £75 million to roll out adaptable clean tech innovations from India to the wider Indo-Pacific and Africa, and working together on international development and girls education.
Mr Johnson’s foreign adventures are doubtless a welcome distraction but they have done nothing to reduce the pressure on him to resign following his lies to Parliament over the Partygate scandal.
The Prime Minister is now to be investigated by a Westminster committee over claims he misled Parliament about parties in Downing Street during lockdown.
MPs yesterday approved the Privileges Committee instigating an inquiry as soon as police have finished their investigation into the gatherings.
Johnson’s government had tried to delay the vote, but were forced into making a U-turn following opposition from its own Tory MPs.
And with the full details of the Sue Gray report still to come, Boris Johnson’s political future is very much still in the balance.
Changes to The Highway Code will help ensure the first wave of self-driving vehicles are used safely on UK roads.
UK Government sets out changes to The Highway Code to ensure the first self-driving vehicles are introduced safely on UK roads
changes clarify drivers’ responsibilities in self-driving vehicles, including when a driver must be ready to take back control
future technology could improve and level up transport, easing congestion, cutting emissions and reducing collisions caused by human error
Drivers will be able to experience the full benefits of the first self-driving vehicles when they arrive, as government sets out how they should be driven safely on UK roads.
The government has today (20 April 2022) confirmed planned changes to The Highway Code, responding to a public consultation, continuing to pave the way for safer, more efficient travel.
The changes to the code will help ensure the first wave of technology will be used safely, explaining clearly that while travelling in self-driving mode, motorists must be ready to resume control in a timely way if they are prompted to – such as when they approach motorway exits.
The plans also include a change to current regulation, allowing drivers to view content that is not related to driving on built-in display screens, while the self-driving vehicle is in control. It will, however, still be illegal to use mobile phones in self-driving mode, given the greater risk they pose in distracting drivers as shown in research.
With self-driving technology rapidly developing across the globe, Britain’s first vehicles approved for self-driving could be ready for use later this year. Vehicles will undergo rigorous testing and only be approved as self-driving when they have met stringent standards.
The government is continuing to develop a full legal framework for self-driving vehicles to enable the safer and greener movement of people and goods in the UK. The Department for Transport will also work with industry, regulators and safety organisations to ensure drivers can access information, including online, to help them use the vehicles safely.
Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said: “This is a major milestone in our safe introduction of self-driving vehicles, which will revolutionise the way we travel, making our future journeys greener, safer and more reliable.
“This exciting technology is developing at pace right here in Great Britain and we’re ensuring we have strong foundations in place for drivers when it takes to our roads.
“In doing so, we can help improve travel for all while boosting economic growth across the nation and securing Britain’s place as a global science superpower.”
The development of self-driving vehicles could create around 38,000 new, high-skilled jobs within Britain’s industry that would be worth £41.7 billion by 2035.
The measures confirmed today follow a public consultation launched by the government, which found the majority of respondents were broadly supportive of the proposed changes to The Highway Code to clarify drivers’ responsibilities in self-driving vehicles.
The introduction of the technology is likely to begin with vehicles travelling at slow speeds on motorways, such as in congested traffic.
Designed for use on a motorway in slow traffic, ALKS enables a vehicle to drive itself in a single lane, up to 37 mph, while maintaining the ability to return control easily and safely to the driver when required.
Meanwhile, the government expects to have a full regulatory framework in place to support the widespread deployment of the technology by 2025, helping to make the movement of people and goods safer, greener and more efficient.
The technology could improve road safety across Britain by reducing human error, which is a contributory factor in 88% of all recorded road collisions.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “The Highway Code has been updated a number of times in recent years to reflect the rapidly changing transport world we live in and these latest additions will help us all understand what we must and must not do as we move forward to an environment where cars drive themselves.
“The final part of the jigsaw is to ensure these amendments are widely communicated to, and understood by, vehicle owners. Vehicle manufacturers and sellers will have a vital role to play in ensuring their customers fully appreciate the capabilities of the cars they buy and the rules that govern them.”
Self-driving technology in cars, buses and delivery vehicles could spark the beginning of the end of urban congestion, with traffic lights and vehicles speaking to each other to keep traffic flowing, reducing emissions and improving air quality in our towns and cities.
The technology could also improve access to transport for people with mobility issues and lead to more reliable public transport services, helping to level-up access to transport in historically disconnected and rural areas.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “Amending The Highway Code to reflect the pace of technological change will help clarify what motorists can and can’t do when a self-driving feature is engaged, so promoting its safe use.
“The technology could be available in the UK later this year and, with the right regulations in place, consumers are set to benefit from safer, more efficient journeys while the UK will strengthen its position as a global leader in the deployment of self-driving technology.”
Government and rail industry launches nation’s biggest ever rail sale cutting travel costs
Passengers can get their ‘next trip at a snip’ with savings of up to 50%
More than one million discounted tickets will help connect friends and families, boost UK tourism and encourage green travel across the country
Over one million rail tickets will be slashed by up to 50% as the Government and rail industry launch the first-of-its-kind Great British Rail Sale.
The public is encouraged to take advantage of this unprecedented sale, which sees for the first time multiple operators come together to offer nationwide savings.
Savings on offer for off-peak tickets include:
York to Leeds: was £5.60, NOW £2.80
London to Edinburgh: was £44, NOW £22
London to Cardiff: was £47, NOW £25
Wolverhampton to Liverpool: was £10.50, NOW £5.25
Manchester to Newcastle: was £20.60, NOW £10.30
Birmingham New Street to Bristol Temple Meads: was £25.30, NOW £12.60
Portsmouth Harbour to Penzance was £45.70, NOW £22.00
Cutting the cost of rail travel will help ease some of the pressure on family finances at a time when inflation is rising around the world. It will also encourage people to visit different places, connect with friends and loved ones, and get out and about around the country.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “For the first time ever, operators across the rail industry are coming together to help passengers facing rising costs of living by offering up to 50% off more than a million tickets on journeys across Britain.
“There’s no better time to visit friends, family or just explore our great country, so book your tickets today.”
Jacqueline Starr, CEO of the Rail Delivery Group, said:“We want everyone to be able to benefit from travelling by train because it’s more than just a journey, it’s a way to connect everyone to the people, places and things they love.
“As part of the Great British Rail Sale customers will enjoy over 1 million discounted tickets, so they can explore some of the fantastic locations that are accessible by rail”.
Tickets can be purchased online from participating retailers with the up to half-price rate applying to a huge range of off-peak tickets spreading the length and breadth of the country.
Tickets go on sale from 19th April with discounted tickets available on journeys from 25th April to 27th May.
The Government is listening to people’s concerns about rising costs, and is taking action worth more than £22 billion in 2022-23 alone – which includes support with the cost of energy bills and to help to ensure people keep more of their money. Offering half-price rail tickets is one of the ways the Government is further supporting families with the cost of living.
Reforms to the rail sector through the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail mean that network-wide sales of tickets can occur more easily in the future.
TOUGH new internet laws to protect young people, uphold free speech and make sure there are no safe spaces for criminals online return to Parliament for their second reading this week.
Online safety legislation protecting children will be debated in the Commons
Comes as new plans to support vulnerable people and fight falsities online are launched
Funding boost will help people’s critical thinking online through a new expert Media Literacy Taskforce alongside proposals to pay for training for teachers and library workers
MPs will debate the government’s groundbreaking Online Safety Bill which requires social media platforms, search engines and other apps and websites allowing people to post content to improve the way they protect their users.
Ofcom, the regulator, will have the power to fine companies failing to comply with the laws up to ten per cent of their annual global turnover, force them to improve their practices and block non-compliant sites. Crucially, the laws have strong measures to safeguard children from harmful content such as pornography and child sexual abuse.
Ahead of Tuesday’s debate, the government is launching the next phase of its Online Media Literacy Strategy. It aims to help vulnerable and ‘hard-to-reach’ people, such as those who are digitally excluded or from lower socio-economic backgrounds, navigate the internet safely and teach them to spot falsities online.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will spend £2.5 million to advance the plan through the next year including on training, research and providing expert advice.
This includes a new Media Literacy Taskforce featuring experts from a range of disciplines and a boost to the Media Literacy Fund, which gives teachers and local service providers the skills they need to teach people to improve their critical thinking of what they see online.
Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “The time has come to properly protect people online and this week MPs will debate the most important legislation in the internet age.
“Our groundbreaking Online Safety Bill will make the UK the safest place to surf the web. It has been significantly strengthened following a lengthy period of engagement with people in politics, wider society and industry.
“We want to arm everyone with the skills to navigate the internet safely, so today we’re also announcing a funding boost and plans for experts to join forces with the government to help people spot dodgy information online.
Thinking critically online has never been more important. There was a rise in misinformation and disinformation on social media and other online platforms during the global pandemic and the Kremlin continues to use disinformation to target UK and international audiences to justify its actions in Ukraine.
Ofcom research shows adults are often overconfident in their ability to detect disinformation and only 32 per cent of children aged 12 to 17 know how to use online flagging or reporting functions.
Forty per cent of adult internet users do not have the skills to assess online content critically and children up to the age of 15 are particularly vulnerable.
A new Media Literacy Taskforce with 18 experts from a range of relevant organisations, including Meta, TikTok, Google, Twitter, Ofcom and the Telegraph as well as universities and charities, will work with the government as part of its strategy to tackle disinformation and help hard-to-reach and vulnerable groups in society think about what they see on the web, including improving their ability to protect their data and privacy.
The taskforce will look at new ways to identify and reach people most in need of education. This could include working through local authorities or coordinating support offered by local services to roll out training.
The Media Literacy Fund will expand a pilot ‘Train the Trainer’ programme which ran last year to give teachers, library workers and youth workers more skills to help boost people’s critical thinking skills.
New research will be commissioned to understand the root causes of poor media literacy and on the effectiveness of different methods which aim to build people’s resilience to misinformation and disinformation.
The fund will have a broader scope including a focus on improving media literacy provision for people who are particularly vulnerable online – such as children or people suffering with mental health issues.
Since it launched in July 2021, the Online Media Literacy Strategy has provided £256,000 in grant funding to five organisations to adapt media literacy resources for teachers working with disabled children, run a successful awareness campaign to promote Safer Internet Day and empower LGBTQ+ young people with tools to deal with online abuse.
Nick Poole, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) said: “Media literacy is the key to helping people lead healthier, happier and safer lives online, particularly the most vulnerable and hardest-to-reach in our society.
“As a member of the DCMS Media Literacy Taskforce, I welcome the breadth and ambition of this new Action Plan, which demonstrates the government’s commitment to this important agenda. As librarians and information professionals, we look forward to playing our part in bringing it to fruition.”
Will Gardner OBE, CEO of Childnet International and a Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre said: “Media literacy is a core part of Childnet’s work with children, young people, parents and carers, and we fully support the Media Literacy focus and work of the DCMS. This work has never been as important as it is now.
“There is a great deal of work being done in this space in the UK. The government is playing an important role in helping to identify where there are gaps and where focus or learning is needed, and then supporting responses to that.
“As part of the UK Safer Internet Centre, in February 2022 we worked closely with the DCMS in helping to promote the Safer Internet Day campaign to LGBTQ+ young people. We fully support the continued focus of the Action Plan, including ensuring that ‘hard-to-reach’ groups are supported as well as those who are particularly vulnerable online.”
UNLUCKY FOR SOME: First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also one of thirteen ‘not getting in’
The Prime Minister spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday afternoon.He paid tribute to the bravery of Ukrainian forces who continue to valiantly defend their country’s freedom.
President Zelenskyy updated the Prime Minister on the situation in Mariupol, and the Prime Minister said he saluted Ukrainian resistance in the city.
The pair discussed the need for a long-term security solution for Ukraine, and the Prime Minister said he would continue to work closely with allies and partners to ensure Ukraine could defend its sovereignty in the weeks and months to come.
The Prime Minister also updated President Zelenskyy on new sanctions from the UK that came into force last week, and said the UK would continue to provide the means for Ukraine to defend itself, including armoured vehicles in the coming days.
The Prime Minister said international support for Ukraine only grew stronger and that he remained convinced Ukraine would succeed and Putin would fail.
Russia has banned Prime Minister Boris Johnson and some other senior cabinet ministers from entering Russia, citing the UK’s ‘hostile’ stance on the war in Ukraine.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and former Prime Minister Theresa May have also been barred.
The statement, issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry yesterday, reads:
‘In connection with the unprecedented hostile actions of the British government, expressed, in particular, in the imposition of sanctions against top officials of the Russian Federation, a decision was made to include key members of the British government and a number of political figures in the Russian “stop list”.
‘This step was taken as a response to London’s unbridled information and political campaign aimed at isolating Russia internationally, creating conditions for containing our country and strangling the domestic economy.
‘In essence, the British leadership is deliberately aggravating the situation around Ukraine, pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and coordinating similar efforts on the part of NATO.
‘The instigation of London is also unacceptable, which is strongly pushing not only its Western allies, but also other countries to introduce large-scale anti-Russian sanctions, which, however, are senseless and counterproductive.
‘The Russophobic course of the British authorities, whose main task is to incite a negative attitude towards our country, curtail bilateral ties in almost all areas, is detrimental to the well-being and interests of the inhabitants of Britain itself. Any sanctions attacks will inevitably hit their initiators and receive a decisive rebuff.
‘The following is a list of British subjects who are no longer allowed to enter the Russian Federation:
Boris JOHNSON (Alexander Boris de Pfeffel JOHNSON) – Prime Minister;
Dominic Rennie RAAB – Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Justice;
Elizabeth TRASS (Elizabeth Mary TRUSS) – Minister of Foreign Affairs;
Ben WALLACE – Secretary of Defense;
Grant SHAPPS – Minister of Transport;
Priti PATEL – Minister of the Interior;
Rishi SUNAK – Minister of Finance;
Kwasi KWARTENG – Minister of Entrepreneurship, Energy and Industrial Strategy;
Nadine Vanessa DORRIES – Minister of Digitalization, Culture, Media and Sports;
James HEAPPEY – Deputy Secretary of Defense;
Nicola Ferguson STURGEON – First Minister of Scotland;
Suella BRAVERMAN – Attorney General for England and Wales;
Theresa MAY is a Conservative MP and former British Prime Minister.
‘In the near future, this list will be expanded to include British politicians and parliamentarians who contribute to whipping up anti-Russian hysteria, pushing the “collective West” to use the language of threats in dialogue with Moscow, and shamelessly inciting the Kiev neo-Nazi regime.’
Reacting to the ban, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described President Putin as ‘a war criminal’ and said she would not ‘shy away from condemning him and his regime’.
Samaritans are to launch a new veterans support helpline, backed by more than half a million pounds of government funding, to provide peer-to-peer emotional support to veterans.
The new helpline is one of more than 50 projects announced today from the Office for Veterans’ Affairs Afghanistan Veterans’ Fund, totalling £5million.
Around £150k is being provided to RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity, who will improve the wellbeing of veterans through volunteering with Afghans who now live in the UK, including Afghans who worked with the UK military and were evacuated during Operation Pitting.
Other projects include:
Providing veterans in Scotland with opportunities to engage with mindfulness and recovery in nature, through the charity Mindfulness Scotland
Encouraging veterans to connect with one another through sports such as rugby, golf, climbing and horse riding.
Increasing access to assistance dogs for veterans struggling with their mental health in England to assistance dogs to help alleviate symptoms and triggers of PTSD.
Minister for Defence People and Veterans Leo Docherty said: “We are forever grateful to those who served in Afghanistan and members of the Afghan community who worked with them. Their courage and commitment to this country will never be forgotten.
“This targeted funding for charities across the country will ensure that, regardless of location, those who have served and their families can access services easily.”
The Afghanistan Veterans’ Fund was announced by the Prime Minister last year, following the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The fund supports the Afghanistan veteran cohort with help adjusting to civilian life.
The fund, which is being distributed by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, will also increase dedicated support mechanisms for young veterans and their families. The £5 million boost will also help increase the user friendliness and accessibility of services, better signposting veterans to the range of state and charitable services available to them.
The Samaritans project will see volunteers from the military community trained to provide peer-to-peer support by the charity, to encourage improved mental resilience and wellbeing in the armed forces community.
Chief Executive Officer of Samaritans Julie Bentley said: “Samaritans is proud to be supporting our Armed Forces community, many of whom have put their physical and mental health on the line to serve their country, with the creation of a new dedicated support service for military veterans.
“Sadly, we know from calls to our helpline that veterans consistently make up over 70% of the calls from the military community, and that they are almost twice as likely to report suicidal thoughts compared with the general population.
“That’s why it’s so important that veterans facing a crisis can easily access support and contact a trained veteran volunteer to help improve their wellbeing.”
Chief Executive Officer of RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity Alistair Halliday said: “The funding from the OVA will enable RFEA The Forces Employment Charity to deliver vital support. We will be working with UK Veterans to support Afghan people who are arriving in the UK and who worked alongside our UK Armed Forces during the 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan.
“The aim of our programme will be to enable those arriving from Afghanistan to access employment providing financial independence and inclusion in UK society. The sustained links that we will create between UK veterans, many of whom served in the Afghanistan conflict, and those arriving from Afghanistan will create long-term benefit for both groups”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a speech on plans to tackle illegal migration yesterday:
For centuries, our United Kingdom has had a proud history of welcoming people from overseas, including many fleeing persecution.
My own great-grandfather came from Turkey in fear of his life, because our country offered sanctuary for his outspoken journalism.
And when you look back over the centuries as people have come seeking refuge or simply in search of somewhere to build a better life, you see this is the very stuff our history is made of.
From the French Huguenots, to the Jewish refugees from Tsarist Russia, to the docking of the Empire Windrush, to the South Asians fleeing East Africa, to the many, many others who have come from different countries at different times for different reasons, all have wanted to be here because our United Kingdom is a beacon of openness and generosity, and all in turn have contributed magnificently to the amazing story of the UK.
Today that proud history of safe and legal migration is ultimately responsible for many of those working in our hospitals and on the front line of our response to the pandemic, for more than 60 per cent of the England football team at the final of Euro 2020, for many of our country’s leading figures in the worlds of business, art and culture, and, I’m pleased to say, for ever growing numbers of people serving in public life, including colleagues of mine like Nadhim Zahawi who escaped with his family from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, Dominic Raab, whose Jewish father came to Britain from Czechoslovakia to escape Nazi Germany, and Priti Patel, whose family fled persecution in Uganda.
So I’m proud that this government has continued the great British tradition of providing sanctuary to those in need, in fact, doing more to resettle vulnerable people in the UK – through safe and legal routes – than any other government in recent history.
Since 2015 we have offered a place to over 185,000 men, women and children seeking refuge, more than the entire population of Sunderland and more than any other similar resettlement schemes in Europe.
This includes almost 100,000 British Nationals Overseas threatened by draconian security laws in Hong Kong, 20,000 through our Syrian scheme, 13,000 from Afghanistan and to whom we owe debts of honour, and around 50,000 Ukrainians.
And we are not only supporting British nationals and those settled in the UK to bring potentially hundreds of thousands of their extended family from Ukraine, we are also welcoming unlimited numbers of refugees from that conflict, as the British people open their homes, in one of the biggest movements of refugees to this country that we have ever known.
And as we work with local authorities and the devolved administrations to welcome those coming from Ukraine into our communities, we will also find accommodation across our whole United Kingdom for all those who have come here previously but who are currently in hotels, because it makes absolutely no sense for the taxpayer to foot those bills, running to almost £5 million a day, with the sum total of those we accommodate being concentrated in just a third of local authorities.
It is controlled immigration, through safe and legal routes, which enables us to make generous offers of sanctuary while managing the inevitable pressures on our public services such that we can give all those who come here the support they need to rebuild their lives, to integrate and to thrive.
But the quid pro quo for this generosity, is that we cannot sustain a parallel illegal system.
Our compassion may be infinite, but our capacity to help people is not.
We can’t ask the British taxpayer to write a blank cheque to cover the costs of anyone who might want to come and live here.
Uncontrolled immigration creates unmanageable demands on our NHS and our welfare state, it overstretches our local schools, our housing and public transport, and creates unsustainable pressure to build on precious green spaces.
Nor is it fair on those who are seeking to come here legally, if others can just bypass the system.
It’s a striking fact that around seven out of ten of those arriving in small boats last year were men under 40, paying people smugglers to queue jump and taking up our capacity to help genuine women and child refugees.
This is particularly perverse as those attempting crossings, are not directly fleeing imminent peril as is the intended purpose of our asylum system.
They have passed through manifestly safe countries, including many in Europe, where they could – and should – have claimed asylum.
It is this rank unfairness of a system that can be exploited by gangs, which risks eroding public support for the whole concept of asylum.
The British people voted several times to control our borders, not to close them, but to control them.
So just as Brexit allowed us to take back control of legal immigration by replacing free movement with our points-based system, we are also taking back control of illegal immigration, with a long-term plan for asylum in this country.
It is a plan that will ensure the UK has a world-leading asylum offer, providing generous protection to those directly fleeing the worst of humanity, by settling thousands of people every year through safe and legal routes.
And I emphasise this. So whether you are fleeing Putin or Assad, our aim is that you should not need to turn to the people smugglers or any other kind of illegal option.
But to deliver it, we must first ensure that the only route to asylum in the UK is a safe and legal one, and that those who try to jump the queue, or abuse our system, will find no automatic path to settlement in our country, but rather be swiftly and humanely removed to a safe third country or their country of origin.
And the most tragic of all forms of illegal migration, which we must end with this approach, is the barbaric trade in human misery conducted by the people smugglers in the Channel.
Before Christmas 27 people drowned, and in the weeks ahead there could be many more losing their lives at sea, and whose bodies may never be recovered.
Around 600 came across the Channel yesterday. In just a few weeks this could again reach a thousand a day.
I accept that these people – whether 600 or one thousand – are in search of a better life; the opportunities that the United Kingdom provides and the hope of a fresh start.
But it is these hopes – those dreams – that have been exploited.
These vile people smugglers are abusing the vulnerable and turning the Channel into a watery graveyard, with men, women and children, drowning in unseaworthy boats, and suffocating in refrigerated lorries.
And even if they do make it here, we know only too well some of the horrendous stories of exploitation over the years, from the nail bars of East London to the cockle beds of Morecambe Bay, as illegal migration makes people more vulnerable to the brutal abuse of ruthless gangs.
So we must halt this appalling trade and defeat the people smugglers.
That is why we are passing the Nationality and Borders Bill, which allows us for the first time to distinguish between people coming here legally and illegally, and for this distinction to affect how your asylum claim progresses and your status in the UK if that claim is successful.
It will enable us to issue visa penalties against those countries that refuse to accept returns of foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers.
It will clean up the abuse of our legal system, introducing a one-stop shop that will end the cycle of last minute and vexatious claims and appeals that so often thwart or delay removals.
And it will end the absurd practice of asylum-seeking adults claiming to be children to strengthen their claims and access better services.
Crucially it will also allow us to prosecute those who arrive illegally, with life sentences for anyone piloting the boats. And to identify, intercept and investigate these boats, from today the Royal Navy will take over operational command from Border Force in the Channel, taking primacy for our operational response at sea, in line with many of our international partners, with the aim that no boat makes it to the UK undetected.
This will be supported with £50 million of new funding for new boats, aerial surveillance and military personnel in addition to the existing taskforce of patrol vessels, Wildcat helicopters, search and rescue aircraft, drones and remotely piloted aircraft.
This will send a clear message to those piloting the boats: if you risk other people’s lives in the Channel, you risk spending your own life in prison.
People who do make it to the UK will be taken not to hotels at vast public expense, rather they will be housed in accommodation centres like those in Greece, with the first of these open shortly.
At the same time, we are expanding our immigration detention facilities, to assist with the removal of those with no right to remain in the UK.
We are investing over half a billion pounds in these efforts.
And this is on top of overhauling our arrivals infrastructure here in Kent, with new processing facilities now operational at Western Jet Foil and Manston.
But we need to go still further in breaking the business model of these gangs.
So from today, our new Migration and Economic Development Partnership will mean that anyone entering the UK illegally – as well as those who have arrived illegally since January 1st – may now be relocated to Rwanda.
This innovative approach – driven our shared humanitarian impulse and made possible by Brexit freedoms – will provide safe and legal routes for asylum, while disrupting the business model of the gangs, because it means that economic migrants taking advantage of the asylum system will not get to stay in the UK, while those in genuine need will be properly protected, including with access to legal services on arrival in Rwanda, and given the opportunity to build a new life in that dynamic country, supported by the funding we are providing.
The deal we have done is uncapped and Rwanda will have the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead.
And let’s be clear, Rwanda is one of the safest countries in the world, globally recognised for its record on welcoming and integrating migrants.
Later this year it will welcome leaders from across the Commonwealth, and before the pandemic, in 2018, the IMF said Rwanda was the world’s fourth fastest growing economy.
We are confident that our new Migration Partnership is fully compliant with our international legal obligations, but nevertheless we expect this will be challenged in the courts, and if this country is seen as a soft touch for illegal migration by some of our partners, it is precisely because we have such a formidable army of politically motivated lawyers who for years who have made it their business to thwart removals and frustrate the Government.
So I know that this system will not take effect overnight, but I promise that we will do whatever it takes to deliver this new approach, initially within the limits of the existing legal and constitutional frameworks, but also prepared to explore any and all further legal reforms which may be necessary.
Because this problem has bedevilled our country for too long and caused far too much human suffering and tragedy, and this is the government that refuses to duck the difficult decisions, this is the government that makes the big calls, and I profoundly believe there is simply no other option.
And I say to those who would criticise our plan today, we have a plan; what is your alternative?
I know there are some who believe we should just turn these boats back at sea.
But after much study and consultation – including with Border Force, the police, national crime agency, military and maritime experts, to whom I pay tribute for all the incredible work that they do dealing with this problem as things stand – it’s clear that there are extremely limited circumstances when you can safely do this in the English Channel.
And it doesn’t help that this approach, I don’t think, would be supported by our French partners, and relying solely on this course of action is simply not practical in my view.
I know there are others who would say that we should just negotiate a deal with France and the EU.
And we have made repeated and generous offers to our French friends and we will continue to press them and the EU for the comprehensive returns agreement that would solve this problem.
We remain grateful to the gendarmes on the beach, for the joint intelligence work and the co-operation that has stopped thousands of boats.
We would like to deepen that work and we continue to believe that a deal with France and the EU is in the national interest of all our countries.
But we must have our own framework for full sovereignty over our borders and we must find a way to stop these boats now, not lose thousands more lives while waiting for a deal that just doesn’t exist.
And I know there will be a vocal minority who will think these measures are draconian and lacking in compassion. I simply don’t agree.
There is no humanity or compassion in allowing desperate and innocent people to have their dreams of a better life exploited by ruthless gangs, as they are taken to their deaths in unseaworthy boats.
And there is no humanity or compassion in endlessly condemning the people smugglers, but then time and again ducking the big calls needed to break the business model of the gangs and stop these boats coming.
And there is no humanity or compassion in calling for unlimited safe and legal routes, offering the false hope of asylum in the UK to anyone who wants it, because that is just unsustainable.
There are currently 80 million displaced people in the world, many in failed States where governments can’t meet their aspirations.
In an era of mobile connectivity they are a call or a text away from potentially being swept up in the tide of people smuggling.
The answer cannot be for the UK to become the haven for all of them.
That is a call for open borders by the back door, a political argument masquerading as a humanitarian policy.
Those in favour of this approach should be honest about it and argue for it openly.
We reject it, as the British people have consistently rejected it at the ballot box – in favour of controlled immigration.
We simply cannot have a policy of saying anyone who wants to live here can do so.
We’ve got to be able to control who comes into this country and the terms on which they remain.
And we must do this in the spirit of our history of providing refuge.
And in that way we can more than play our part in offering sanctuary to thousands fleeing persecution.
But then of course other countries must play their part too.
And that is what I think is most exciting about the partnership we have agreed with Rwanda today because we believe it will become a new international standard in addressing the challenges of global migration and people smuggling.
So I am grateful for Rwanda’s leadership and partnership and we stand ready to work with other nations on similar agreements, as well as wider reforms to the international asylum framework.
As I say, we will continue to work with our French friends to tackle the gangs, we will continue to lead co-operation with crime and intelligence partners across Europe, we will continue to seek a returns agreement with the EU or with France.
But in the meantime, and for the foreseeable future, we need this new approach.
The people smugglers are undermining confidence in our borders.
They are betraying all those who do the right thing, who try to come here legally – through forms of migration or the safe and legal routes provided for refuge.
They are undermining the natural compassion and goodwill that people have towards refugees in this country.
And they are endangering human life day after day.
And though the way ahead will be hard, and though we can expect many challenges and many obstacles to be thrown up against this plan, I believe this plan is the right way forward, because the people smugglers must be stopped in order to save countless lives; and because tackling illegal migration is precisely the way to sustain a safe, legal and generous offer of sanctuary to those in need, that is in the very best traditions of this country and the values we stand for in the world.
Home Secretary Priti Patel made a speech in Kigali to announce a world first partnership to tackle the global migration crisis:
I am delighted to be here in Kigali, Rwanda alongside our friend and partner Minister Dr Vincent Biruta.
I would like to express my personal thanks to him and his team for the constructive way in which they have worked with my team over many many months to achieve and deliver this partnership.
The UK has a long and proud development history with Rwanda. Our shared interests have resulted in strong economic and development growth lifting millions out of poverty, but also resulted in growing manufacturing and technology sectors, which are generating jobs and sustainable growth for generations to come.
I know at first hand that your country, Minister is a regional and international leader. You are on the global stage, very much yourself more often than not but also hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the World Telecommunication Development Conference, and the Sustainable Energy for All Forum.
Your national leadership is the African voice on international initiatives, which really speak to and seek to find solutions to regional and international challenges.
I am very honoured to be here, and the United Kingdom is delighted to be working ever more closely with Rwanda.
We have many, many interests in common, and we face many of the same challenges. I want to turn to one of those challenges now.
The global migration crisis and how we tackle illegal migration requires new world-leading solutions.
There are an estimated 80 million people displaced in the world and the global approach to asylum and migration is broken.
Evil people smugglers and their criminal gangs are facilitating people into Europe, resulting in loss of life and huge costs to the UK taxpayer.
The tragic loss of life of people in the Channel and in the Mediterranean at the hands of these evil smugglers must stop.
And today, our approach as two outward-looking countries has led to the signing of a new international partnership – which is a world first. It is a migration and economic development partnership with the country of Rwanda and UK.
This will see some of those arriving illegally in the UK, such as those crossing the channel in dangerous small boats, relocated to Rwanda to resettle and rebuild their lives in ways in which the minister has just outlined.
More than 28,000 migrants crossed the channel last year by small boat in very dangerous and perilous conditions
The UK asylum system is collapsing under a combination of real humanitarian crises and evil people smugglers profiteering by exploiting the system for their own gain.
Criminals are exploiting the hopes and fears of migrants, pushing them to make dangerous journeys to the UK with fictitious and false promises that they can settle in the UK if they make it.
This has devastating consequences for the countless men, women, and children who have tragically lost their lives or lost loved ones on perilous journeys.
It is also deeply unfair, because it advantages those with the means to pay people smugglers over vulnerable people who cannot.
Global systems and conventions have failed to address this global crisis.
The world has changed and renewed global leadership is required to find new innovative solutions to this growing problem.
Today the United Kingdom and Rwanda have signed a joint new migration and economic development partnership to put an end to this deadly trade in people smuggling.
This is part of the United Kingdom’s New Plan for Immigration to control our borders, protect our communities, stop dangerous illegal migration, help the world’s most desperate people, and welcome international talents to the UK.
It is the biggest overhaul of our immigration system in decades, underpinned by our Nationality and Borders Bill, which will soon become law.
Our country, the United Kingdom, has always extended the hand of friendship to those in need.
In recent years alone, we have proudly welcomed tens of thousands of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, and BNOs from Hong Kong.
Rwanda has one of the strongest records of refugee resettlement and in recent years and as the minister has just said, Rwanda has resettled over 100,000 refugees.
It has an established record of welcoming and integrating people, such as those from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, but also including, for example, people from Libya evacuated under the EU’s Emergency Transit Mechanism, in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency and the African Union. Rwanda is also a State Party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the seven core UN Human Rights Conventions.
Border control is fundamental to national sovereignty. Uncontrolled immigration reduces our capability and capacity to help those who most need our support. It puts intolerable pressure on public services and local communities.
And at home, as the Prime Minister has said today, because the capacity of asylum system is not unlimited, the presence of economic migrants – which these illegal routes introduce into the asylum system – inhibits our ability to support others in genuine need of protection.
The British people are fair and generous when it comes to helping those in need, but the persistent circumventing of our laws and immigration rules and the reality of a system that is open to gaming and criminal exploitation has eroded public support for Britain’s asylum system and those that genuinely need access to it.
Putting evil people smugglers out of business is a moral imperative. It requires us to use every tool at our disposal – and also to find new solutions.
That is why today’s migration and economic development partnership with Rwanda is such a major milestone.
It is also very much in keeping with our vision for a Global Britain that harnesses the potential of new relationships and stimulates investment and jobs in partner countries.
Working together, the United Kingdom and Rwanda will help make the immigration system fairer, ensure that people are safe and enjoy new opportunities to flourish.
We have agreed that people who enter the UK illegally will be considered for relocation to Rwanda to have their asylum claim decided.
And those who are resettled will be given support, including up to five years of training to help with integration, accommodation, and healthcare, so that they can resettle and thrive.
This agreement fully complies with all international and national law, and as part of this ground-breaking agreement, the UK is making a substantial investment in the economic development of Rwanda.
This will support programmes to improve the lives of the people in Rwanda and develop the country, economy, job prospects, and opportunities.
In addition, the UK will provide funding and expertise to implement this agreement.
As I have said many, many times, this is a global issue, with many countries struggling to address the challenges and the causes. And there is no single or simple solution.
This agreement illustrates that we can no longer accept the status quo. People are dying and the global migration crisis requires new ways to find new partnerships and to find new solutions.
It will deal a major blow to the evil people smugglers.
We know this will not be easy, we know that we will face challenges along the way, but together with the Nationality and Borders Bill, and the New Plan for Immigration, the UK will support those fleeing oppression, persecution, and tyranny through safe and legal routes, while controlling our borders and deterring illegal entry.
Our world-leading migration and economic development partnership is a global first and will change the way we collectively tackle illegal migration through new, innovative, and world-leading solutions.
Thank you.
In response to the Prime Minster’s announcement today with regards to a relocation plan for asylum seekers to Rwanda,Enver Solomon, CEO of Refugee Council, said:“The UK Government is lurching from one inhumane policy to the next in relation to the lives of refugees, none of which address the reason why people take perilous journeys to find safety in the UK.
“The decision to send those seeking sanctuary in our country to Rwanda is cruel and nasty. Treating people like human cargo by using the force of military to repel vulnerable people who have already endured extreme human suffering and expelling them to centres in Rwanda, a country with a questionable record on human rights, is dangerous, cruel and inhumane.
“This announcement comes at a time when every day the UK is witnessing the brutality of war that desperate Ukrainian families are fleeing. This is the reality faced by refugees escaping conflicts all over the world. We know these policies will do little to deter desperate people from seeking protection or stop the smugglers but only lead to more human suffering, chaos and at huge expense to the UK taxpayer of an estimated £1.4 billion a year.
“There is a deliberate attempt to paint people seeking asylum as jumping the queue. Yet, this ignores the fact that the Government’s own data shows that two thirds of men, women and children arriving in small boats across the channel come from countries where war and persecution have forced them from their homes.
“With so few safe and legal routes available, these people are left with no other option than to risk their lives in small boats at the hands of smugglers in desperation to find safety.
“This Government’s proposal to treat refugees differently purely on the basis of how they arrived in the UK undermines a key principle of refugee protection. People desperately fleeing war and persecution should always have a fair hearing on British soil.
“If the UK Government is serious about reducing the need for onward movement of refugees, it must act as a truly global Britain and invest humanitarian and development aid into the countries people are fleeing.
“We must work multilaterally – not with remote countries such as Rwanda – but to get an effective bilateral agreement with France and our EU neighbours for fair, effective and coordinated asylum processing, creating safe routes via humanitarian visas from assessment centres set up at British embassies elsewhere in Europe to enable people in need to travel without resorting to smuggling networks.
“We need to see well thought-out, long-term solutions that protect refugees and effectively control our borders as opposed to reactive and inhumane policies enshrined in the Nationality and Borders Bill, that punish and criminalise people seeking safety, harm lives or destroy our reputation as a country which values human rights.”
There is some provisional support for the scheme, however.Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: “In the past four years, tens of thousands of people have come without prior permission in dangerous trips by boat. These trips have led to dozens of deaths, have profited criminal smugglers and are a legitimate source of concern, indeed anger, for millions of Britons.
“Offshore processing was part of Australia’s successful policy to stop the illegal boats and many people were prevented from drowning.
“We need to see more details of this aspect of the UK government’s plan to fix our overwhelmed and abused asylum system but offshore processing could yet help to stem this vile trade.”
