The UK government's recent policies on handling asylum seekers have sparked controversy and legal challenges. Britain's highest court ruled it unsafe and unlawful to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda, citing an incident where Rwandan police shot dead 12 Congolese refugees. Despite the court's decision, the Conservative government has proceeded with the plan. Additionally, there are alarming reports of over 350 unaccompanied children detained in UK-run facilities in France during 2022 and 2023. Migrants set to be deported to Rwanda have been stripped of their smartphones to limit their contact with external support, receiving basic 'brick' phones without internet access instead. Leaked documents also revealed that the UK considered using Iraq, a country advised against for travel by the Foreign Office, as another processing location for asylum seekers. Among those detained for deportation to Rwanda are Afghans, Syrians, and Sudanese, according to charity reports.
Is it wrong to take phones off migrants waiting for Rwanda flights? The Home Office has confiscated smartphones and swapped them for brick mobiles, which charities say is to isolate them from help. What do you think? @y_alibhai | @TiceRichard | @theJeremyVine | #JeremyVine https://t.co/O4YL9T5OoX
Revealed: Ministers considered a Rwanda-style migrant deal with Iraq - despite Foreign Office advising against 'all travel' to parts of the country https://t.co/QJi4duUENg https://t.co/uKeVY3ST34
Afghans, Syrians and Sudanese people are among those detained to be sent to Rwanda, according to a charity supporting them ⬇️ @mollyblackall reports https://t.co/t4OUZ1dTN6
Would-be Rwanda migrants detained at removal centres are stripped of their smartphones and given 'brick' phones - meaning they don't have access to the Internet, their contacts or their WhatsApp texts or calls https://t.co/0ccS0ZoH5O https://t.co/RyQ4ky1BsV
🚨 NEW: The government considered sending asylum seekers to Iraq rather than Rwanda, despite advising against all travel to the country
The government at one point considered using Iraq to process asylum seekers - like the Rwanda scheme - according to documents seen by Sky News Read more 🔽 https://t.co/hjIO2agCHx
UK considered using Iraq to process asylum seekers in Rwanda-type deal, leaked documents show | Politics News | Sky News https://t.co/ZyBEtUK3Yj
Migrants who have been detained ready to be flown to Rwanda have been stripped of their smartphones to limit contact with charities and campaigners @Care4Calais https://t.co/SMmJAIiBP3 https://t.co/7IZhTrIQgk
"I am not aware of those details." Health minister @mariacaulfield reacts to reports that the government at one point considered using Iraq to process asylum seekers - like the Rwanda scheme. https://t.co/u1N1qmJ2Uv 📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube https://t.co/QjYkTYL27R
"Migrants who have been detained ready to be flown to Rwanda have been stripped of their smartphones to limit contact with charities and campaigners" https://t.co/ucuRjula04
UK considered using Iraq to process asylum seekers in Rwanda-type deal, leaked documents show Read more 🔽 https://t.co/7AA9WrmrTd
🔴 Migrants who have been detained ready to be flown to Rwanda have been stripped of their smartphones to limit contact with charities and campaigners https://t.co/Tdqm27erBs
UK hands out guides to migrants: 'I'm being relocated to Rwanda: What does this mean for me?' https://t.co/aRdquZARMX
'A Syrian asylum seeker who is locked up in a #detention centre awaiting #deportation to #Rwanda says he will kill himself on arrival because he doesn’t believe it will be a safe country for him' https://t.co/ArZvoBxKYW
Over 350 unaccompanied children were held in Home Office-run detention facilities in northern France in 2022 and 2023. The figures have been described as “alarming” and “hugely concerning” by NGOs From @syalrajeev and me https://t.co/zkb1WALtfU
‘Alarming’ number of lone children held in UK-run facilities in France https://t.co/5AI91LBrl5
Britain’s highest court found it unsafe and unlawful to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda, "where the police shot dead 12 Congolese refugees during a protest in 2018." Britain's Conservative government just voted to ignore that. https://t.co/9CkFoQPMGa