Open-borders activists are collaborating with union leaders to pressure incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham into allowing more asylum seekers into the UK. Care4Calais, a left-wing migrant support charity, is coordinating a campaign demanding “safe routes now” for Channel crossers, according to an email seen by the Daily Express.
Campaign Targets Burnham Amid Labour Rebellion
The campaign adds to Mr Burnham’s challenges as 100 Labour MPs refused on Monday night to back Shabana Mahmood’s asylum reforms. Labour’s Immigration and Asylum Bill aims to make it harder for foreign criminals and rejected asylum seekers to use human rights laws to block removal, streamline appeals, force migrants to repay accommodation costs, and enable fast-track deportations.
Union barons are working with Care4Calais to force Mr Burnham to dilute these plans. The email states: “Andy, it is no coincidence that Channel crossings became a thing just as the UK shut down its last remaining safe routes. As the UK requires refugees to be in the country before they can claim asylum here, it has resulted in people being forced to seek other ways to arrive here. Safe routes would solve this overnight.”
Ukrainian Scheme Cited as Model
The email argues that the Ukrainian resettlement scheme worked: “When the scheme was opened, the Ukrainian community gathering in Calais dispersed as they now had a safe route. No Ukrainian has had to cross the Channel. The same would happen if we offered safe routes to refugees from Sudan and Eritrea – the vast majority of whom we grant asylum to.” It adds: “PCS union and refugee charity Care4Calais have developed a workable policy on safe routes. I am asking that you read the policy and act upon it.”
Shadow Home Secretary Warns of Record Claims
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp warned in Parliament: “The numbers we are talking about would be in addition to the asylum claims we are already processing. Last year saw the highest number of asylum claims in history – somewhere in the region of 109,000. This year will be only a little lower. Adding to that when we already have record numbers strikes me as irresponsible.” He noted that sponsors only support migrants for the first year: “Thereafter, the taxpayer would have to pick up the tab. I do not support these schemes until illegal immigration and asylum claims are down essentially to zero.”
