Majority of Brits want ministers to open safe routes for refugees, poll shows
The majority of the public believe ministers should open safe routes for refugees to travel to Britain to claim asylum, it has been revealed.
A poll found 58% support the idea as ministers drag their feet over alternatives to dangerous Channel crossings.
The survey of 2,000 people, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Care4Calais, showed 65% are sympathetic towards refugees seeking a safer life for themselves and their families.
MPs today will debate possible amendments to the government’s controversial Illegal Immigration Bill, including forcing ministers to introduce a safe passage visa scheme.
Rishi Sunak has pledged to open new safe routes, but has failed to give details or a timeframe for when it will happen.
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Rishi Sunak has failed to give details or a timeframe for when he will open new safe routes (Getty Images)Clare Moseley, the founder of Care4Calais said: “As the UK Government seeks to ban refugees from claiming asylum in the UK through its new bill, our poll shows that they are out of step with the UK public who are sympathetic to the plight of refugees and believe we should be providing safe routes for them to claim asylum.
“It has been clear for some time that the current Government is more interested in hardline anti-refugee rhetoric than delivering real solutions to fix the broken UK asylum system."
The United Nations refugee agency's representative to the UK yesterday warned the Illegal Migration Bill "effectively extinguishes the right to seek asylum in the UK for all but a very few refugees".
Vicky Tennant, of the UNHCR, told Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme that the proposed legislation is "in breach of international law" and "the UK's obligations under the International Refugee Convention."
It comes as a separate poll found just one in five believes the Tories’ plan to deport Channel migrants to Rwanda will stop desperate refugees clambering in small boats to come to Britain.
The Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey for the Mirror found only 22% of 1,500 voters quizzed online think the controversial policy will be a deterrent.
Half of those questioned said it would not.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman have repeatedly claimed that deporting boat migrants to the African nation will deter others from attempting the perilous journey across the Strait of Dover - the world’s busiest shipping lane.
Just 38% of voters questioned in the poll backed the policy, with 21% against. The others either did not know or said they neither supported nor opposed the plan.
Voters were split on whether £140million already spent on the scheme - even though not a single migrant has been deported to Rwanda amid legal battles - would have been worth it if Channel crossings dropped significantly.
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More than 3,000 migrants have already made the treacherous Channel crossing this year.
A record 45,756 completed the journey last year(2022).
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