Priti Patel to Give Immunity to Border Force Officials Turning Back Migrant Boats

London: Border Force staff could be offered immunity when turning back migrant boats in the Channel. According to a report in the Guardian, Home Office officials have confirmed that Priti Patel is seeking to introduce a provision in the nationality and borders bill to give officials legal protection in the event of migrants drowning.

According to Home Office figures, more than 18,000 people have made the crossing from France to England in small boats this year, compared to just over 8,460 in 2020. It was reported by BBC News that 11 boats with 364 migrants on board crossed the English Channel to reach Kent on Sunday and a further 40 on Friday and Saturday with 1,115 people making the journey. There had been nearly 300 arrests and 65 convictions related to small-boat crossings so far this year.

Under controversial bill, presently at committee stage, an asylum seeker who arrives in the UK without prior authorisation would face up to four years in prison. ‘Whether the provision, tucked away in an obscure corner of the bill, would actually protect officers from conviction under international maritime laws could be tested in the courts,’ writes Rajeev Syal, the Guardian’s home affairs editor.

Read more: Jon Robins, Justice Gap, https://is.gd/G1jozP