Alderney could be used to hold Channel migrants

A Think Tank has suggested Alderney could be used as an asylum processing centre for Migrants crossing the Channel.

The Think Tank Policy Exchange have suggested Alderney, a UK base in Cyprus or Ascension Island in the Atlantic, could be used as bases for the centres.

Officials in the UK have started talks for 'Plan A' which would be an agreement with France to accept the return of migrants and asylum-seekers attempting to cross the Channel in small boats.

If the Plan A agreement is not passed, an alternative 'Plan B' has been suggested, which would be to remove Migrants attempting to enter the UK on small boats to a location outside the UK.

However, politicians in Alderney have spoken out against the idea.

Alderney States Member, Alex Snowdon said no discussions have been had with the island's government before the news was made public.

"How these proposals would be taken forward with a very small community on the island has not been explained in the document that we have seen. They have tried to come up with a Plan B but it has not been assessed regarding visiting the island, looking at the impact on the island, the community and how it would actually be implemented.

"There is limited healthcare, limited policing on the island, limited education on the island, maybe that comes into it as well.

"This is a very sensitive subject, however we would not want to make the situation worse by putting a lot of people into Alderney without the facilities and resources to actually deal with that situation.

"So I don't think the proposals, unless they tick some magic boxes which we haven't seen, how this would be dealt with. So it would actually create a worse situation than a better situation."

Professor Richard Ekins, a contributor to the report and head of Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project, said: “The crisis in the Channel warrants a game-changing and humane solution. The crisis may well worsen as events in Ukraine continue to unfold. 

"It is possible to stop the small boats consistently with the UK’s international obligations and moral responsibilities. If Plan A cannot be agreed with France, the Plan B outlined in this report is the way forward.”

If the plan B is agreed, it would see Migrants sent to purpose-built asylum processing centres, where border authorities would be able to decide whether or not they are able to remain in the UK.

Those who fail to gain asylum would then be returned to their home countries, or another country who has offered them asylum.

Genuine refugees would be resettled in a safe state, but this would not be the UK.

No person entering, or attempting to enter, the UK on a small boat from a safe country would be allowed to settle in the UK, even if they are a refugee.

In 2021, more than 28,000 migrants crossed the Channel in hopes of settling in the UK.

Despite international efforts to crack down on people smugglers, gangs have continued their deadly trade, charging thousands of pounds for the perilous journey in flimsy inflatable boats.

Director of Policy Exchange Dean Godson, said: “It is absolutely clear that we must do something about the ongoing small boats crisis.  We have people being exploited by ruthless smugglers and traffickers, put in extreme danger, and, tragically, in some cases, losing their lives. 

“We cannot allow this to continue. At the moment we have thousands of people placing themselves in jeopardy, even though they are already in a safe country, trying to cross The Channel.  It is vital we now end the incentive to do so.”

The dinghies seen leaving French shores and being towed into Dover have noticeably increased in size over the past year with some carrying as many as 50 people.

The dangers of the English Channel were laid bare on November 24 when at least 27 people died as their boat sank.