Priti Patel considered building an asylum processing centre on a remote volcanic island in the south Atlantic, it was claimed last night. Under an extraordinary scheme, the Home Office would ship migrants 4,000 miles from the UK to Ascension Island, a British overseas protectorate. Ms Patel abandoned the plan after instructing her officials to drill down into the practicalities of such a project, according to the Financial Times. Moving asylum seekers there and keeping them supplied was said to represent a considerable logistical challenge. The proposal appears to further reflect the influence on UK policy-making of Australia, which has used offshore processing and detention centres for asylum seekers since the 1980s.

Source: Daily Mail September 29, 2020 23:38 UTC