Proposals on asylum seekers raise questions of “values and humanity”

Tuesday 22 February 2022

A proposal to house UK-bound asylum seekers in Alderney has been strongly criticised by the island's former Chief Executive as well as one of its Representatives in Guernsey’s States’ Assembly.

Policy Exchange, a conservative think tank based in the UK, has published proposals for dealing with small boats carrying asylum seekers across the English Channel. As a second-choice option - Plan B - the think tank identified Alderney as a potential site for accommodating asylum seekers who are turned away from the UK’s borders.

Andrew Muter, who was Chief Executive of the States of Alderney between 2018 and 2020, said the proposal was an example of “why serious policy proposals should not be left to academics and lawyers alone,” pointing in particular to the island's history with forced labour camps during the Second World War.

“Pause for a moment to think about the slave labour camps which were on Alderney to fulfil Hitler’s Atlantic Wall strategy; the thousands of Jewish, Romany, French, Spanish and Eastern European people who were sent there; the hundreds of recorded and many more deaths,” said Mr Muter on Twitter.

An illustration of why serious policy proposals should not be left to academics and lawyers alone @Policy_Exchange @ukhomeoffice @MoJGovUK #localgov https://t.co/UZJlY1Q4lg #migrants #alderney #Guernsey

— Andrew Muter (@andrewmuter) February 18, 2022

Pictured: Alderney's former Chief Executive expressed critical views on the proposals from the think tank Policy Exchange.

Mr Muter added that whilst the writers of the report had identified the historical misuse of the island by the Nazis, the proposals should generate questions of “what kind of values and humanity drive the people who produced this report".

Then ask yourself what kind of values and humanity drive the people who produced this report? Ask whether they should be given any standing whatsoever in the mature democracy of a nation which stood against fascism?

— Andrew Muter (@andrewmuter) February 18, 2022

Pictured: Mr Muter invited readers to see the insensitivity of the proposals in the context of what was done in Alderney during the Occupation.

Policy Exchange is a right of centre think tank which has close links to several members of the UK Government.

In its report on asylum seekers, the think tank states that the best option is to intercept them and return them to France before they reach the UK's land borders.  

However, what it calls Plan B contains suggestions to “remove persons attempting to enter the UK on small boats to a location outside the UK – whether the Channel Islands, Sovereign Bases in Cyprus or Ascension Island – where their asylum claims would be considered".

The report claims that Plan B would not breach the United Kingdom’s legal obligations as set out in the Refugee Convention 1951, but that it would require “express legislative authority to avoid being frustrated in the courts".

The proposals are set to be seen by Alexander Downer, a former Foreign Minister of Australia and High Commissioner to the UK, who has recently been recruited by UK Foreign Secretary Priti Patel to review the UK's border controls. 

Pictured: Alderney Representative Alex Snowdon was unimpressed that Alderney learned of the proposals through media coverage of them.

Alex Snowdon, one of Alderney's Representatives in the States' Assembly in Guernsey, said the governments and people of the Bailiwick were not consulted before the report’s publication.  

“It is extremely disappointing that absolutely no engagement or input has taken place with the Governments of Alderney and Guernsey before these plans became public,” said Mr Snowdon.

“States’ members only found out about these plans when national media covered the story.

"There appears to be very little thought of the impact on the transferred services, such as healthcare, police and education supplied by the States of Guernsey, which would be unable to cope. 

“There appears to be no assessment of consequences to the island. No consultation or input has taken place with the States or public.

“The [UK] Cabinet Office must be aware that the proposal would make the situation worse due to the Bailiwick being unable to offer the resources and facilities required for thousands of migrants entering Alderney for asylum processing."

Pictured: Alexander Downer has been appointed to lead a review of the UK's border controls by the Home Secretary Priti Patel. 

Mr Snowdon said that Mr Downer and Prime Minister Boris Johnson must consult the islands' governments before adopting any changes to policies or arrangements for asylum seekers which would affect the Channel Islands. 

“It should also be remembered the UK government has no constitutional powers over the island," he said

The States of Alderney have officially responded below:

“The States of Alderney fully understands the nature of the issues facing the UK and the increasing number of migrants crossing the English Channel to the south coast, however these are matters for the UK Government and it would therefore not be appropriate for the government of Alderney to comment.

“Alderney is a small, self-governing jurisdiction that, while part of the British family, is not a part of the United Kingdom. There has been no discussion with the Alderney government on the suggestions being put forward by the think tank and we have only been made aware of them as a result of recent media coverage.”