Newly released files from the National Archives show that Tony Blair was presented with radical measures to tackle asylum, including a detention camp on the Isle of Mull and breaking international law. In 2003, Blair expressed frustration at the failure to deter people from coming to the UK, as asylum applications hit a record high of 84,132 in 2002.
Advisers suggested 'safe havens' overseas for failed asylum seekers, such as sending Iraqis to Turkey and Somalis to Kenya. They also considered following Australia's approach of detaining people in camps, which had driven down applications 'enormously'. The attorney general's office proposed a camp on the Isle of Mull for detention before return, but chief of staff Jonathan Powell doubted its viability due to the 'Nimby' factor.
In a paper titled 'Asylum: the nuclear option', advisers questioned whether the UK needed an asylum system at all, arguing refugees would have passed through a safe country before reaching Britain. Some ideas parallel current government policies, such as the Rwanda plan, though the most controversial measures were never enacted by Labour.
Blair wrote on a briefing note: 'We must search out even more radical measures.' A brainstorming session on 22 January 2003 considered legislating incompatibly with the European Convention on Human Rights, allowing removal of illegal immigrants regardless of risk of inhuman treatment. Advisers acknowledged this would likely lose in court but would send a strong message in the meantime.
