"Government has completely lost the plot" – PCS responds to Ascension Island refugee plan
In an interview with Times Radio this morning, Home Office minister Sarah Dines was asked why the government was considering Ascension Island as an option when it had examined and rejected it three years ago. The minister responded that times change and the government would look at all possibilities.
Responding to reports the government is again considering deporting refugees to Ascension Island, PCS Head of Bargaining Paul O'Connor said: "This government's ever-increasing attempts to demonise refugees to deflect from their catastrophic failings on living standards in the UK are becoming ever more ridiculous and unhinged. They are spiralling down ever deeper into a racist cesspit. This will not end well.
“That a government minister can even seriously contemplate the prospect of deportations to Ascension Island indicates they have completely lost the plot. As ever, it is our members at the sharp end in the Home Office who are left to pick up the pieces as the government lurches from one disaster to another.
“Asylum is a serious business that requires serious solutions. Gimmicks such as this, and forcing refugees into unsuitable accommodation on barges like the Bibby Stockholm, which the Fire Brigades Union has condemned as a potential death trap, will do nothing to help those in need of safety nor to fix a broken system.
“If the government is serious about stopping the small boat crossings, it would adopt our policy on Safe Passage. That is the sensible and humane way to deal with the issue.”
ends