Harry Fletcher
Apr 14, 2022
IndyTV
Frankie Boyle has hit out at Priti Patel and the UK government over their decision to send asylum seekers to another country to have their cases processed.
The comedian reacted after the Home Secretary posted footage of herself in Rwanda this morning, with the announcement having been first been communicated yesterday.
Patel wrote: “In Kigali, Rwanda, ahead of a significant moment for the New Plan for Immigration.
Prime Minister @BorisJohnson will set out the full detail tomorrow.”
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It comes after ministers signed a deal to send asylum seekers arriving in the UK to Rwanda.
It will see migrants “offshored” more than 4,000 miles away to the landlocked African country while they wait for an asylum decision from the Home Office.
It is understood that the Rwandan government will be paid an initial cost of £120m under the deal, which will be funded by the British taxpayer.
Responding to Patel’s post on Twitter, Boyle hit out at the policy by writing: “The reason you don’t have a significant fascist party in Britain is that those voters are very happy with the government.”
The reason you don\u2019t have a significant fascist party in Britain is that those voters are very happy with the governmenthttps://twitter.com/pritipatel/status/1514364571271716877\u00a0\u2026— Frankie Boyle (@Frankie Boyle) 1649918267
The prime minister is expected to set out the plans in a speech on Thursday morning, stating: “Our compassion may be infinite, but our capacity to help people is not.
The comedian hit out at the Home SecretaryBBC/Getty
“The British people voted several times to control our borders – not to close them, but to control them. So just as Brexit allowed us to take back control of legal immigration by replacing free movement with our points-based system, we are also taking back control of illegal immigration, with a long-term plan for asylum in this country.”
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper described it as “unworkable, unethical and extortionate”, and warned that it would cost the UK taxpayer billions of pounds during a cost of living crisis.
She also slammed the announcement as a “desperate and shameful” attempt by Mr Johnson to “distract from his own law-breaking”.
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
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