An open letter on asylum
An open letter, written by Andy MacWilliam to the Guardian newspaper in response to comments made by the Prime Minister.
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A few minutes ago a Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the Conservative Party aired. In it the Prime Minister strongly implied that the vast majority of those seeking entry to the UK are doing so illegally. He vowed to turn away all such 'illegal immigrants'.
This displays a complete lack of understanding of the legal position, and (perhaps worse) a complete lack of compassion.
The fact is that everyone has a right in law to seek asylum in the UK. People doing so are not acting illegally, they are exercising a human and legal right. Inevitably a small proportion of such asylum seekers will not have genuine grounds to claim asylum, but the vast majority will be genuine, even if they don't have the paperwork to prove it. The UK legal system is based on a presumption of innocence. Innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof lies with the accuser. This presumption of innocence must be applied to all asylum seekers.
But there are criminals involved - they are the people traffickers. Both those 'recruiting' overseas, and those based in the UK who abuse and oppress those unfortunate enough to come under their thrall. How about the government focuses its law enforcement resources on them?
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