The UK government has denied that asylum seekers hoping to reach the UK could be sent to Ascension Island under immigration reforms.
The South Atlantic island, which is part of a UK overseas territory almost 7,250 kilometres away, has been considered among the possible locations for offshore processing centres.
But Home Office minister Tom Pursglove said it was “untrue” to suggest the island was an option.
Under the Nationality and Borders Bill, the UK government would be able to send asylum seekers to a “safe third country” and to submit claims at a “designated place”.
This is part of efforts to create an Australian-style offshore processing system, a move that has several critics including Conservative former prime minister Theresa May.
Countries and territories including Rwanda, Albania and Gibraltar have also been considered as possible locations.
The House of Lords voted to remove these powers from the Bill but MPs reinstated them on Tuesday by 302 votes to 232.
Labour's shadow home office minister Stephen Kinnock described this as perhaps the “most unhinged” part of the Bill.
“The latest ludicrous suggestion is to use the Ascension Island, 4,500 miles away in the South Atlantic Sea. This is utter nonsense," Mr Kinnock told the House of Commons.
“It’s operationally illiterate because it’s so utterly impractical and it’s economically illiterate because it costs an eye-watering amount of taxpayers’ money.”
But Mr Pursglove said: “Just to be very clear for the benefit of the House, the suggestion around the Ascension Island is untrue.”
Former cabinet minister David Davis was among the Conservative MPs to voice concerns at the proposals.
“Asylum offshoring would be a moral, economic and practical failure," Mr Davis said. "Previous international experience shows that introducing it here will be unmitigated disaster. The first problem is an ethical one."
He told the Commons to look at “what actually happened to Australia when they adopted that approach in 2013”.
“It meant children, slavery victims and tortured survivors could be detained offshore," Mr Davis said.
“The Refugee Council of Australia has documented gut-wrenching stories of sexual, physical and mental abuse in the processing facilities.”
He said the second problem would be its “staggering cost”.
Conservative former cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell said: “We know that it would be incredibly expensive.
“Judged by the costs of Australian offshoring, the British taxpayer would face unprecedented costs per asylum seeker.
“It would be much cheaper to put each one in the The Ritz and send all the under 18s to Eton. That would cost a great deal less than what is currently proposed.
“Much more sensible to recruit and train several hundred new civil servants to process these claims more rapidly and yes, to crack down on an over-lengthy appeals process exploited through unscrupulous lawyers.”
Simon Hoare, Conservative MP for North Dorset, said of offshore processing: “It is the most dehumanising word of turning our fellow human beings into commodities that we have this idea that we can move from pillar to post.”
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam
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Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Read more about the coronavirus
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Empty Words
By Mario Levrero
(Coffee House Press)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
