Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Independent TV

Showing now | News

'Failed' asylum system offers 'false hope' to migrants, Starmer says

00:54

Government’s ‘failed’ asylum system offers false hope to migrants, says Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer said the UK’s failed asylum system has turned refugee camps into a “job-centre for modern slavery” as he outlined Labour’s plan to stop small boat crossings on Friday 10 May.

The Labour leader delivered a speech on the Kent coast in which he attacked the government’s current approach as “rank incompetence” and dismissed the Rwanda scheme.

Sir Keir also recalled a visit to a refugee camp on the outskirts of Calais in 2016 and described the situation as a “monumental failure”.

“People had been brutally let down,” he said.

“Not just in terms of the truly awful conditions but also because the failure of our asylum system had encouraged a false hope.”

Up next

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in