PEOPLE seeking asylum on small boats travelling to the UK who refuse to be rescued by the French authorities could be jailed for up to five years under a proposed new law.
A bill introduced to Parliament would also allow people smugglers to be jailed for up to 14 years as the proposed new law aims to disrupt Channel crossings.
The bill will also grant police stronger powers as they will be able to seize laptops, financial assets and mobile phones from suspected smugglers.
Officials have said powers, included within the border security, asylum and immigration bill, are inspired by counter-terrorism measures as the Guardian reported that the Home Office is targeting “hundreds not thousands” of gang members believed to be responsible for the cross-Channel trafficking.
However, refugee groups have criticised the new powers, saying many refugees could also be prosecuted under the new law.
They added that it could also make the cross-Channel route more dangerous for those seeking refuge in the UK.
Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, told the Guardian that criminalising men, women and children who have fled conflicts does not disrupt the smuggling gangs.
He: “We are very concerned that by creating new offences, many refugees themselves could also be prosecuted, which has already been happening in some cases. This would be a gross miscarriage of justice.
“Criminalising men, women and children who have fled conflicts in countries such as Sudan does not disrupt the smuggling gangs’ business model. When a refugee is clambering into a boat with an armed criminal threatening them, they are not thinking about UK laws but are simply trying to stay alive.”
The proposed bill will make it an offence to “endanger another life during perilous sea crossing to the UK” and anyone involved in coercive behaviour, “including preventing offers of rescue”, will face prosecution and an increased sentence of up to five years in prison.
This means anyone “rushing” vessels in the sea as they try to launch could also be prosecuted.
The Home Office reportedly hopes to use the new offences to extradite some of the suppliers and people smugglers responsible for Channel crossings along with prosecuting any who enter the UK.
Existing rules mean law enforcement officers are unable to intervene until after a small boat crossing.
Natasha Tsangarides, the associate director of advocacy at Freedom from Torture, said fears the Government’s proposal will risk intensifying the vulnerability of those who are forced to rely on smugglers who are unable to travel via safer routes.
She said: “This bill will do nothing to address the root causes of forced displacement. Instead, cracking down on the methods refugees use to escape war and persecution will only make their journeys more dangerous.
“We fear that the Government’s current approach, directed through the frame of counter-terrorism, risks intensifying the vulnerability of those who are forced to rely on smugglers in the absence of safe routes.
“If the government truly wants to address the challenges posed by the movement of refugees across borders, then it would be better directed towards stopping the torture that pushes people from their homes in the first place.”
