The refugee, Abdulfatah Hamdallah, was found on Wednesday after trying to reach England in a dinghy with shovels for oars. Since people traffickers do not appear to have been involved, the tragedy has also revealed the mendacious inadequacy of the version of events being peddled by ministers. Just as obviously, the strategy most likely to lead to good outcomes is for countries to work together. For the UK government, one urgent priority must be to establish safe, legal means for asylum seekers to lodge claims. Partly this is the result of deliberately inflammatory politics pursued over many years with a view to attracting voters thought to be hostile to immigration.

Source: The Guardian August 20, 2020 18:33 UTC