UK's small-boat crisis solvable with deportations to Ascension Island

Policy Exchange think tank pushes option of a processing centre in the South Atlantic

Ascension Island is being suggested as a processing centre for migrants trying to reach the UK.

Thousands of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats should be flown to a tiny South Atlantic island more than 6,000 kilometres away to process their claims, a British think tank has proposed.

The plan to send thousands of people to Ascension Island is one of the best alternatives should France refuse to take back migrants who make the journey to the UK in small vessels, according to a report by the Policy Exchange.

The group said that all migrants should be relocated abroad to British-controlled territories for processing within 48 hours of arrival if a deal could not be struck with Paris.

The report considered the Channel Islands, close to the coast of France, and British sovereign territory in Cyprus, but said the “most obviously suitable” distant location was Ascension, a 90 square kilometre island with a population of up to 1,200 and a police force of three.

There are currently no direct flights from the island to the UK while the pot-holed runway is being repaired before its reopening this year. The authors of the report said the weather would be better than alternative sites if those sent for processing were forced to sleep in tents because of a lack of facilities.

The UK government previously carried out an assessment for a processing centre on Ascension, which included the practicalities of transferring thousands of migrants, but shelved the idea.

The opposition Labour party described the proposal in 2020 as ludicrous, inhumane, completely impractical and wildly expensive.

More than 28,000 migrants entered the UK from northern Europe by small boat in 2021. Reported government projections suggest that number could double this year.

Policy Exchange said a radical plan was needed to dissuade migrants from making the crossing. It said the best plan was for naval patrols in the Channel that could escort or take small boats back to the EU.

But failing that, Ascension Island was one of the best alternative locations to investigate the claims of new arrivals despite being “cumbersome and expensive”.

DUNGENESS, ENGLAND - JANUARY 18: Migrants arrive at Dungeness after being intercepted in the channel by the UK Border Force on January 18, 2022 in Dungeness, England. Over 28,000 migrants crossed the English Channel by boat last year, three times as many as in 2020, and migrant arrival facilities in Kent are being expanded to accommodate. (Photo by Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)

The proposal would involve opting out of human rights legislation but would still be in line with the UK’s international obligations, according to the report.

“Small-boat crossings to UK shores from safe countries like France need to be brought back to their pre-2017 level: negligible,” it said.

Those found to be refugees would be sent to a “safe third country” for settlement, according to the report, while others would be deported or sent to any country willing to take them. The right-wing think tank said identifying those countries was not part of its report.

Richard Ekins, a law professor at the University of Oxford and contributor to the report, said: “The crisis in the Channel warrants a game-changing and humane solution.”