We need a dose of reality in the debate about English Channel crossings
It's absurd that wave machines or volcanic islands would even be articulated as ideas, let alone the fact that ASYLUM APPLICATIONS HAVE FALLEN
Yes, there are fewer asylum seekers coming to the UK
Some useful figures from evidence to the Home Affairs Committee here
The number of asylum seekers arriving via small boats rose from 465 to 2,012 in the first 2 quarters of the year, but the number arriving by other routes dropped from 8,455 to 4,850
In a press briefing today, the National Crime Agency reiterated the fact that boats are being used more because of a fall in lorries coming via ferry and general air and sea traffic during coronavirus
They expect Channel crossings to fall as the weather worsens
It's not an invasion, it's not a crisis, it's not even a surprise
It's past time for the government to admit that publicly
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The government has responded to this High Court order, stating that it "does not intend to carry out enforced removals to Rwanda before the General Election on 4 July 2024"
The FDA's legal challenge against the Safety of Rwanda Act is going ahead on 6 June
The government missed its initial Friday deadline for responding to the order, claiming it was “unable” to state the earliest date for removals and was given an extension until Tuesday
Another order had to be made on that yesterday, pretty chaotic
Oh wow. In a rare move, the High Court has issued an order for the government to formally inform it of "the earliest date on which the Government intend to begin removals to Rwanda"
Because Rishi Sunak's media statement on Thursdsy directly contradicted its own legal arguments
This is the legal challenge against the Safety of Rwanda guidance for civil servants, brought by the FDA union
The government was reprimanded by the High Court on 10 May for messing it about with dates, which affected how the case was scheduled
The government originally wrote to the High Court claiming “the earliest a removal is expected to take place is 1 to 15 July 2024”, but then wrote again saying the date was based on 22 April Sunak press conference and 10 to 12 weeks was actually the "week
commencing 24 June"
New: The Home Office has already started freeing people it detained for Rwanda flights
It will not confirm how many asylum seekers have so far been granted immigration bail but applications were expected. It plans to keep detaining more people to fill allocated detention space
It is responding to individual legal challenges against detention as they come, which can be based on someone's individual vulnerabilities or an argument they will not be deported in a "reasonable period"
The applications are handled by independent judges rather than Home Office
The detention operation - codenamed Operation Vector - only started a couple of weeks ago, and Rwanda flights are still at least 7 weeks away according to the government's own timetable
Many more bail applications will be lodged in that time
On appeals against being sent to Rwanda, the PM claimed: "The judiciary have made available 25 courtrooms and identified 150 judges who could provide over 5,000 sitting days"
A judicial spokesman said: "The deployment of judges is a matter for the judiciary..."
"...in line with new provisions in the Illegal Migration Act, the judiciary have identified a number of First Tier Tribunal judges who may be asked to sit in the Upper Tribunal to deal with any increase in appeals"
But decisions will be made by the Senior President of Tribunals
And take into "account the interests of justice and the need for all matters before the Tribunals to be handled quickly and efficiently"
Any decision on temporary deployment is for the judiciary, not the government, and there are already massive backlogs inews.co.uk/news/politics/…
Follow this thread for a fact-checked watch-along of prime minister Rishi Sunak's press conference on the Rwanda scheme
Wow he's going fast, I'll do my best
1. "We're going to deliver this indispensable deterrent so that we finally break the business model of the criminal gangs"
The Rwanda scheme required a rare ministerial direction because there is no evidence it will deter Channel crossings
2. "We've prepared for this moment to detain people while we prepare to remove them. We've increased detention spaces to 2,200 to quickly process claims"
By the end of December, 1,782 immigration detention centres were full, because they are needed for many other purposes
Exclusive: The Home Office has been quietly rolling out a multi-million IT system that was supposed to "automate" asylum, citizenship and visa cases
It's now causing chaos, with errors, bugs and delays leaving staff "sobbing" while applicants suffer inews.co.uk/news/politics/…
At least £71m has so far been spent on the Atlas digital caseworking system and spending is rising, with the Home Office admitting “significant resource is being put in place to resolve” issues
Some of the glitches have been classified as a P1 “critical” technical incidents
It has been causing delays to applications including British citizenship, skilled worker visas, asylum claims, EU settlement scheme and Homes for Ukraine, while slowing down immigration enforcement operations
Some cases get stuck, while civil servants get locked out of others