Sunak Unveils Crackdown on Asylum Seekers Amid Immigration Row
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled plans to tackle the UK’s swelling backlog of asylum claims including making it harder for arrivals from Albania to stay in Britain.
(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled plans to tackle the UK’s swelling backlog of asylum claims including making it harder for arrivals from Albania to stay in Britain.
The premier unveiled a five-point plan to bear down on what he called “illegal migration,” saying it’s “unfair” that people enter Britain unlawfully, because it takes capacity away from processing genuine claims. He also told the House of Commons on Tuesday that he’s struck a deal with Albania to cut down on the growing influx of arrivals from what is a “safe, prosperous European country.”
Sunak is trying to tackle a backlog in processing asylum seekers that’s swelled to more than 120,000 as officials struggled to keep up with the growing number of arrivals in small boats from France that the government blames on criminals. The prime minister pledged to eliminate the backlog in processing claims by the end of next year.
“It is not cruel or unkind to want to break the stranglehold of criminal gangs who trade in human misery and who exploit our system and laws,” Sunak said. “Enough is enough.”
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