Millions of pounds in British aid is being spent pulling refugees from the sea and returning them to Libya to be locked in detention centres where they are at the mercy of abusive guards, an official watchdog has said. Britain is training the country’s coastguard to stop some of the tens of thousands of people trying to cross the Mediterranean each year, even though the Libyans refuse to recognise any as refugees and detain them all. Officials have been urged to prevent aid from causing “harm to vulnerable refugees”. Britain is devoting £5 million to Libya as part of a programme tackling the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, with some of that money going to improve the capabilities of the coastguard. A further £4 million…

Source: The Times March 10, 2017 00:02 UTC