Labour Peer, ex-MP for Battersea. Campaigner for refugees, especially children. Interested in human rights, asylum policy and Ireland. RTs are not endorsements.
Jun 6, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
@KayBurley May I correct some inaccuracies?
It is not illegal to seek asylum, however you arrive in a country. There are no "illegal routes" for asylum seekers (Refugee Convention 1951, which we signed) (1/4)
@KayBurley Migrants are not the same as asylum seekers. Asylum seekers are fleeing war, torture, violence. Conflating the two is deliberately misleading (2/4)
Nov 26, 2021 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
History will judge this shabby government and its weaponisation of refugee lives. A thread..
This week's tragedy is made worse by the fact it was foreseeable
Nov 17, 2021 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
Congratulations to the @refugeecouncil on its excellent analysis of channel crossings and asylum.
It's a complex subject but the central truth it confirms is that @pritipatel's claim that most people who cross the Channel in small boats are economic migrants is just not true.
Indeed, 61% of the asylum claims made by those crossing the Channel on dangerous boats from the top 10 countries of origin are from genuine refugees
Jun 3, 2021 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
Illegal detention of migrants, a thread: Today’s High Court Ruling confirms it was illegal & irrational for the govt to detain refugees in prison-like conditions in #NapierBarracks. It was also inhumane and, at a time of pandemic, dangerous. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan…
1/10
The findings of the Judicial Review were damning. The Court found Priti Patel ignored Public Health England advice making it “virtually inevitable that large numbers of residents would contract Covid, a disease capable of causing hospitalisation, long-term harm or death” 2/10
Apr 1, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
I don’t wish to reopen the Brexit debate. But what is clear is that the EU Withdrawal Act is sloppy legislation, rushed through by an arrogant government & it leaves some of the most vulnerable children in the UK undocumented and facing an insecure future (1/5) @childrensociety
Last year the govt opposed my amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill which sought to fast-track children in care and care leavers who hold EU passports through the EU settlement scheme. Many have called the UK home all their lives. The govt assured us the amendment wasn’t needed.
Mar 24, 2021 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
Where to start with Patel's 'overhaul' of the rules regarding asylum, announcement today?
A thread...1/4
The Home Office claims it is 'collapsing' under the number of asylum claims. The Home Secretary herself described the asylum process as 'broken'. But this government has been in charge for a decade, during which time the application process has got 8 times longer 2/4
May 21, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Mixed feelings today. It is good to learn that 480 unaccompanied child refugees, living in appalling conditions in the camps in Europe, have been offered sanctuary here under what became known as the Dubs scheme. 1/5 independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…
But I am heartbroken that the scheme has now been ended by the government, effectively ending Britain’s offer of protection for these children, though thousands still remain stranded in rapidly deteriorating camps.
2/5
May 11, 2020 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
In these bleak times this is a rare but wonderful good news story to emerge from the #coronavirus crisis.
This morning 47 extremely vulnerable migrants, including children, were brought to safety in the UK from the refugee camps in Greece. 1/4 theguardian.com/global-develop…
They have now been reunited with their families here. That's 47 families who today are celebrating being back together after years of seperation. All those aboard today's flight were tested negative for #coronavirus before being allowed to leave Athens. 2/4
Mar 4, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
On the last page of "The Future Relationship with the EU", published by the govt last month, is this statement on family reunion for child refugees. I welcome it, as far as it goes, and pay tribute to the campaign by @safepassageuk and others which has clearly had an impact 1/4
We now must press the government for more specific details including, importantly, how the right to family reunion in the UK for refugee children stranded in Europe would be protected in the event of no deal.
2/4
Dec 20, 2019 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Appalling and deeply distressing that the government is threatening to scrap the right of refugee children to be reunited with their families here. 1/4
These are among the most vulnerable children imaginable - unaccompanied and alone.
We're not talking large numbers. These children simply wish to find safety with their families, who are able and willing to support them.
