Priti Patel labelled 'a monster' for shocking suggestion that asylum seekers should be sent to a volcanic island

People are in an absolute uproar in light of Priti Patel's shocking suggestion those seeking asylum in Britain should be sent to a remote volcanic island.

The Financial Timesreported on Tuesday the home secretary ordered officials to look into building an asylum processing centre on the remote volcanic overseas territory of Ascension Island.

The island, which is more than 6,400km from the UK, is an overseas territory inhabited by fewer than 1,000 people.

There was an immediate outpouring of backlash at this possibility, with people calling her “despicable”, “nasty” and even “a monster”, referring to the move as “unabashed fascism”.

“There’s nasty, truly nasty, and ship-some-of-the-most-vulnerable-people-on-the-planet-4000-miles-away-to-the-South-Atlantic nasty,” actor David Schneider wrote in agreement.

Others, while still upset, were less shocked at the revelation considering recent xenophobic Tory politics on asylum seekers.

Labour MP Jess Phillips said she is “not even surprised anymore,” while Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, wrote on Twitter: “This ludicrous idea is inhumane, completely impractical and wildly expensive. So it seems entirely plausible this Tory government came up with it.”

Some people had what they thought might be a better suggestion:

All in all, Professor Tanja Bueltmann summed up how we are all feeling about Patel's politics: "I have no words left".