BRITAIN could suspend visas from countries which don’t “play ball” and take back failed asylum seekers, the Home Secretary said today.
Shabana Mahmood said she had discussed the possibility with the UK’s Five Eyes allies, saying there was “interesting space for collaboration, particularly on how we deal with countries who do not take their citizens back”.
More than 30,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats already this year – with more than 1,000 coming the day after Ms Mahmood took over as Home Secretary.
She said: “For countries that do not play ball, we’ve been talking about how we can take much more co-ordinated action between the Five Eyes countries.
“For us, that means including possibly the cutting of visas in the future, just to say, you know, we do expect countries to play ball, play by the rules, and if one of your citizens has no right to be in our country, you do need to take them back.”
The policy was hinted at earlier this year and formed a key part of the PM’s discussions at the G7.
She vowed to do “whatever it takes” to stop small boat crossings, she added: “This is a Labour Government with Labour policy and Labour proposals.
“We’ve been looking at this for some time. It’s been discussed already across the Government and I’m very clear that there has to be a strong approach to maintaining our border, and that does mean saying to countries who do not take their citizens back that we’re not simply going to allow our laws to remain unenforced.”
Britain already has returns agreements with around a dozen countries including Albania, India, Vietnam and Nigeria. Countries who refuse to sign deals could face tougher action on visa applications.
The UK is today hosting a meeting of the Five Eyes security alliance to discuss how to stop people-smuggling, as the number of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the channel topped 30,000 in record time.
Mahmood was joined in London by Kristi Noem, the US secretary of state for homeland security, as well as interior ministers from Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Discussions are also expected to touch on how to stop child abuse online and how to stop the flow of synthetic opioids.