NICOLA Sturgeon has accused Priti Patel of treating people like “cattle in a holding pen” after it emerged oil rigs and retired ferries were being considered for asylum processing centres.
The First Minister hit out at the plans on social media, saying that the Home Office could “rest assured that any proposal to treat human beings like cattle in a holding pen will be met with the strongest possible opposition from me.”
It comes after details emerged yesterday of plans to build remote asylum processing centres off the UK mainland, with areas including Ascension island, Morocco and Papua New Guinea forming part of considerations.
Today more revelations emerged about the Home Office’s brain storming session on how to handle asylum seekers. One idea suggested was to use boats with pumps to generate waves, which would force the small vessels overloaded with vulnerable asylum seekers back into French waters if they were crossing the Channel.
They can rest assured that any proposal to treat human beings like cattle in a holding pen will be met with the strongest possible opposition from me. https://t.co/qhfxQMSRxG
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) October 1, 2020
Disused North Sea oil rigs were also suggested and discounted after experts warned of the logistical and safety problems associated with them.
Retired ferries have also been suggested for use as asylum processing centres and are understood still to be under consideration.
The moves have been condemned by campaigners and politicians, who describe the plans as “inhumane” “hare-brained” and “disgusting”.
Read more: MPs demand clarity over Priti Patel's "hare-brained" asylum plan
The SNP has issued a statement saying it wants “no part” in the plans.
Joanna Cherry MP, the SNP Shadow Home Affairs and Justice spokeswoman, said: “The latest leaked asylum policies to process claims on disused ferries offshore, on remote islands 4,000 miles away, and even on Scottish islands, confirm the callousness at the core of Boris Johnson’s government.
“This is a Tory government driven by a hostile and toxic agenda and its plans to treat vulnerable asylum seekers as cattle rather than human beings marks yet another stain on its record.
“Breaking international law and abandoning its moral obligations have become the norm for this Tory government.
“Boris Johnson and Priti Patel must now come out and clarify whether there is any truth to these extremely worrying reports, and if there is, then they must abandon them without delay or debate.
“The people of Scotland want nothing to do with the nasty policies peddled by Boris Johnson’s government – with a new YouGov poll showing a strong majority of people in Scotland opposed to the Tories’ asylum plans.
“It’s clearer than ever that Westminster is broken beyond repair and is acting against Scotland’s interests. Only through independence will we be able to build a fairer system that puts respect and dignity at its very core.”
Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: "We all want to prevent people from making dangerous attempts to cross the Channel, but these absurd Home Office proposals are not the answer.
"Tory Ministers are showing no regard either for the wellbeing of asylum seekers or the island communities they want to turn into detention camps.
"Instead of coming up with ever more impractical, ever nastier ways of treating asylum seekers, the Government must restore safe and legal routes to sanctuary for refugees – especially unaccompanied children.
"The UK has a proud history of providing sanctuary to those in need, and Liberal Democrats will not let the Government turn its back on them now."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel