Labour Peer, ex-MP for Battersea. Campaigner for refugees, especially children. Interested in human rights, asylum policy and Ireland. RTs are not endorsements.
Something has shifted in the public mood regarding refugees. I've been tweeting about refugees for many years but never before received such an upswell of sympathy, and near universal condemnation of the government's callous approach. Thank U to everyone for your positive tweets!
“One of the most vile, cowardly, egregious political acts I’ve ever witnessed.”
@maitlis
on immigration minister Robert Jenrick’s defence of ordering a Mickey Mouse mural to be covered up in a children’s asylum reception centre.
Listen on
@GlobalPlayer
I am a refugee. When I was six, the UK saved my life and gave me a home and hope.
This
#RefugeeWeek
my plea is for the UK to live up to its proud humanitarian tradition by giving hope to the refugee children of today. Children like me. Just our fair share, no more than that.
It is bitterly disappointing that after a victory in the Lords the government have voted down my amendment in the Commons. What could be more humane than asking that unaccompanied child refugees stranded in Europe be able to join relatives in this country?
MPs have voted to disagree with Lords Amendment 4 to the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill by 342 votes to 254. This relates to Clause 37 on unaccompanied child refugees being allowed to join their families in the UK after Brexit.
Read more here:
Today's decision by the government, to refuse refugee children the right to family reunion, will be challenged in the Lords. Families belong together. Lone refugee children deserve our help.
Refugee children are most vulnerable, surely they have the right to a better life by joining their families. The Commons passed the Brexit withdrawal bill unamended so children have no such right. The government will be challenged in the Lords next week!
@AlfDubs
@UKLabour
Ishmael was the first unaccompanied child to enter the UK under my amendment. It took him 16 months to arrive here from Aleppo, 13 of which he spent in the jungle in Calais. He's now 18 and studying and it's a pleasure to have him help me here in parliament.
Delighted to attend the unveiling of a new statue in
#Harwich
commemorating the
#kindertransport
. I was one of those refugee children who arrived in Harwich to build a new life
#refugeeswelcome
We 5 child refugees of the Kindertransport handed in a letter to Downing St yesterday calling on the government to act now to welcome the child refugees of today. These children should have the same opportunities in Britain that we were given in 1938-39.
Shocked at the govt's announcement that child refugees in Europe can no longer join family here in the event of a no deal
#Brexit
. Denying a legal path to family in the UK will force children into the arms of traffickers. It's a gross betrayal of our humanitarian traditions
Nicky Winton did not compromise. He was resolute in his determination to save refugee children like me. I hope that before she steps down
@theresa_may
will honour Nicky's memory by welcoming more unaccompanied refugee children from France, Italy and Greece.
Today's tragic loss of life in the Channel, involving children, is heartbreaking. These deaths are a result of the increasing desperation of refugees as their legal routes to safety close. Without legal routes their journeys are dangerous and traffickers are the only winners.
The UK government must urgently offer sanctuary to its fair share of Ukrainian refugees, just as
#Ukraine
's neighbours,
#Ireland
and
#Portugal
have. We cannot publically say we're doing everything to help Ukraine but then turn our backs on those fleeing
@KayBurley
May I correct some inaccuracies?
It is not illegal to seek asylum, however you arrive in a country. There are no "illegal routes" for asylum seekers (Refugee Convention 1951, which we signed) (1/4)
An appalling tragedy in the
#Channel
today, but not an unforseen one.
The UK government needs to increase cooperation with our French neighbours. And refugee children stranded in the EU, with family in the UK, should be reunited with their loved ones here, safely and swiftly
I shall shortly be submitting this letter to the Home Secretary requesting that all of the 480 unaccompanied child refugees eligible under my Amendment be welcomed to the UK before Christmas.
I am enormously grateful to the Lords and of course to the public who have been so supportive of the moral argument for providing safe routes for children to be reunited with their families here. It's now the turn of the Commons to show what they're made of.
Appalling and deeply distressing that the government is threatening to scrap the right of refugee children to be reunited with their families here.
1/4
Just had my jab.
So efficient and quick!
If the government were half as efficient as the
#NHS
we would be in a better place.
Get vaccinated!
#VaccinesWork
#Covid_19
I don’t wish to reopen the Brexit debate. But what is clear is that the EU Withdrawal Act is sloppy legislation, rushed through by an arrogant government & it leaves some of the most vulnerable children in the UK undocumented and facing an insecure future (1/5)
@childrensociety
And just to add one final piece of data, because facts matter. There were 29,456 asylum applications in the UK in 2020 - a drop of 18% on 2019. Germany took 7 times that number (121,955), France & Spain took 3 times that number (93,470 and 88, 530) & Greece (pop 10m) took 40,560
Yesterday, the minister declined to answer when I asked if the Home Secretary speaks for the government when she:
- condemns the planned marches this weekend as “hate marches”
- says that rough sleeping is a “lifestyle choice” 1/3
The way we treat the most vulnerable is a test of the kind of country we aspire to be.
When I arrived here as a refugee child, with 10,000 others, I never thought that 81yrs later I'd be fighting for a few hundred to be allowed to find there families here
It's extremely disappointing that the government has emailed Conservative MPs telling them to vote today against giving refugee children sanctuary in the UK, citing limited local authority capacity. Many London Council leaders agree they can take more.
Strong backing from MPs on all sides for our amendment to Immigration Bill to support child refugees. Without action, vulnerable children & teens will lose safe, legal route to rejoin family in UK. We must not turn our backs on
#childrefugees
. Urge your MP to back
#NC29
tomorrow
Richard Ratcliffe has been on hunger strike for 11 days. This evening MPs and peers from all parties joined Richard to amplify his call for the government to do all it can to secure Nazanin's release.
#FreeNazanin
@FreeNazanin
Who could be against children joining their family? Voting in the Lords on this will happen tomorrow. Then the Commons. Public opinion counts. Please write to your MPs.
.
@AlfDubs
If there’s one thing that will influence this miserable Government of ours is public opinion! Who could be against children joining their families? I’m ashamed this country is doing what it’s doing, it's a scandal.
@safepassageuk
@UKLabour
Don't be distracted by anti-European talk that the
#ECHR
(nothing to do with the
#EU
) is frustrating this government's illegal attempts to offshore refugees (1/4)
A friend in
#Lesbos
tonight described the fire that has destroyed the
#Moria
camp as "a tragedy of epic proportions".
I have written tonight to
@pritipatel
to ask her to urgently offer safety to unaccompanied child refugees who have lost everything and desperately need our help
Wissam is six, the same age I was when Britain gave me sanctuary. He has already lost his sister to the same condition he suffers from. He is living rough in
#Calais
, among the rubbish. There are no legal routes for him to seek sanctuary in the UK.
Today I asked the government, as a matter of urgency, to seek the co-operation of the French authorities to identify people, especially children, who are eligible for family reunion in the UK and to expedite their safe passage to this country to avoid another tragedy
removing legal routes to safety doesn't prevent criminality - it fuels it. The day the legal routes for refugee children seeking asylum here was closed was a field day for people traffickers and smugglers who exploit despair
In these bleak times this is a rare but wonderful good news story to emerge from the
#coronavirus
crisis.
This morning 47 extremely vulnerable migrants, including children, were brought to safety in the UK from the refugee camps in Greece. 1/4
The Home Office claims it is 'collapsing' under the number of asylum claims. The Home Secretary herself described the asylum process as 'broken'. But this government has been in charge for a decade, during which time the application process has got 8 times longer 2/4
MPs have voted against Amendment 4 to Clause 37 of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill, by 348 votes to 252.
This would have protected the right for unaccompanied child refugees to be reunited with their family after Brexit.
80yrs ago Nicky Winton saved me and other children from Nazi Germany. Today there's a new refugee crisis. The challenges are different to 1938 but our humanity must not change. Today, with other kindertransport survivors and Barbara Winton, I will submit this letter to the PM.
The HO has closed the only two legal routes for refugee children stranded in Europe, including lone children and those with family here, to seek asylum in the UK. This is not "fair but firm' - it keeps families apart and lacks compassion
I'm bitterly disappointed by the government's decision to close the door on unaccompanied child refugees seeking to join family here.
What would we want others to do if these were British children fleeing war? With
@jessphillips
Yesterday the government shut the door on unaccompanied child refugees. This battle had been won but the Tories reversed it overnight. If these were British refugee children we know what we would do – we should do the same for them!
@jessphillips
@AlfDubs
@mrjamesob
She's repeating the shameful policy that people should not be treated as refugees if they arrive here by boat.
But she's closed virtually all other means of arrival.
The Lords supported my amendment to the
#ImmigrationBill
to protect the family reunion rights of unaccompanied child refugees.
The Commons now needs to do the right thing by these uniquely vulnerable children and support the amendment
@safepassageuk
Congratulations to the
@refugeecouncil
on its excellent analysis of channel crossings and asylum.
It's a complex subject but the central truth it confirms is that
@pritipatel
's claim that most people who cross the Channel in small boats are economic migrants is just not true.
In 2019 there were approx 5 asylum applications for every 10,000 residents in the UK. Compare that to the EU average of 14 asylum applications per 10,000 of the population, placing us 17th in the EU in terms of asylum applications per head of population 3/4
and I would add:
- attacks the police for "double standards" which she alleges favour left wing groups
*Because if she doesn't speak for the government, she should be sacked*
I am told that the Home Office plans to end the transfer of vulnerable child refugees from France to the UK. If true, I will challenge this decision. Vulnerable child refugees in France need safe, legal routes to come to the UK.
@KayBurley
Migrants are not the same as asylum seekers. Asylum seekers are fleeing war, torture, violence. Conflating the two is deliberately misleading (2/4)
Britain has a proud tradition of showing humanity and leadership on the issue of child refugees. Aged six, my life was one of the 10,000 saved by Britain. As we leave the EU we mustn't abandon the child refugees of today. My interview with
@roswynnejones
Today on
#HolocaustMemorialDay
we remember the terrible tragedy of those murdered in the
#Holocaust
and also the tremendous efforts of Nicky Winton and others who saved lives.
And we of course reaffirm our opposition to racism and persecution in all its forms.
#HMD2021
This man saved my life.
This week a beautiful collection of stories, images and archives about Nicky Winton and the 669 children he rescued was launched.
Please spread the word far and wide - his is a story everyone should know.
The UK Government is trying to get rid of one of the few routes to safety for lone refugee children in Europe.
We stand with
@AlfDubs
in opposing this.
Tell your MP that family reunification MUST be protected in law after Brexit:
The kindertransport gave some Jewish children safety and the chance of a future. Safe passage is needed now to give at-risk Afghans the same chance. Please write to your MPs and tell them you support safe passage for Afghans seeking sanctuary
#SafepassageforAfghans
@chooselove
@KayBurley
There are indeed "hundreds of thousands" of migrants in the UK (606K in 2022, to be exact) - the majority of whom work in the health care sector or are students, or families of students.
In 2022, 45,000 asylum seekers came to the UK in small boats. (3/4)
@BestForBritain
May I clear the above point up?
It is not illegal to seek asylum, however you arrive in a country. There are no "illegal routes" for asylum seekers (Refugee Convention 1951, which we signed).
Just back from
#Calais
. Political turmoil at home means it's easy to forget the suffering of the child refugees just an hour by train from London. Their situation is desperate and appalling. I was pleased to take a break with one young refugee (who beat me at table football)
Alongside
@helprefugees
, I have been fighting for the rights of vulnerable child refugees. Today, I'm pleased to say that it was worth it. The courts agreed: every lone child we have turned away deserves an explanation & a chance to appeal a rejection under
#Dubs
scheme.
@KayBurley
In 2022 France processed 156,455 claims for asylum and the UK 76,000. So, France took twice the number that the UK did.
The UK is below the average among EU countries for asylum applications per head of population, ranking 16th among EU27 countries
In an election year, when politicians need more scrutiny, not less, it is deeply worrying that
#Newsnight
is facing severe cuts.
How are citizens to hold politicians properly to account if serious, indepth
#BBC
interviews and investigations are scrapped?
“If anyone is going to lead us to victory over this dreadful government then I think it’s Keir."
Thank you for your support
@AlfDubs
.
#AnotherFutureIsPossible
The vast majority of British people agree we can do more to help vulnerable child refugees. That's the kind of country we are. I hope we do justice to the British people and to child refugees in our votes next week. Thank you
@mrjamesob
for inviting us on!
When I put the argument for child refugees to British people the vast majority agree that we can do more to help them. That's the kind of country we are.
I hope we do justice to the British people and to child refugees in our votes next week.
#worldrefugeeday2021
Kindertransport children like me were given hope by this country. Today's government would slam the door.
We are better than this.
Today's
#HighCourt
ruling was careful to stress that the UK is bound by its own domestic legislation and by
#humanrights
obligations under several international treaties and conventions, in addition to the ECHR (2/4)
Today will be a test of the humanitarian principles of our MPs.
This evening they will have the opportunity to support the rights of refugee children to seek sanctuary in the UK or to be reunited with family here after Brexit.
#immigrationbill
1/2
And I really don't buy the government's claim that this new position is just for the purpose of negotiation. Vulnerable children are not bargaining chips. We should not be exploiting their misery for political purposes, but defending them as our own.
4/4
"legal" routes only, but there are no legal routes....
Unless we provide safe routes we are complicit with the traffickers.
The only way forward is to work with our European partners on a Europe-wide asylum and refugee policy
My article in
@TheHouseMag
Still smiling after meeting one of my heros
@GaryLineker
! I'm so grateful for his advocacy on behalf of child refugees. Wonderful to watch the kids from
@FulhamFCFound
and
@safepassageuk
having the day of their lives with a football on the hallowed turf at
#CravenCottage
.
Meet Mohamed. Writer, thinker, traveller. He loves poetry and dreams of writing his first novel. He’s one of the
#PeopleofCalais
.
The
#PeopleofCalais
are our friends. We’ve asked them to tell us their stories, in their words. Not as refugees in camps or in boats, but as people.
The refugee crisis is a global problem. France is doing all it can but it can't solve the problem alone. The UK government should do more to take its fair share of desperate children, many of whom are living rough on the streets and in the woods in Calais.
Cities are offering to take unaccompanied child refugees from the camps in Greece. It's the humanitarian thing to do. It gives these children, who are living in a terrible and dangerous situation, a chance at life.
We need to take our fair share too.
Eg
The Convention against Torture
The 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
To name a few...(3/4)
Finally, two unaccompanied refugee children have arrived from Greece, one at least needs lots of support and care and thanks to
#Hammersmith
Council, he's now being well looked after. Yesterday I met the fantastic social workers who are supporting him. Well done all.
"The public are losing patience with a Home Office clearly unfit for purpose and a broken asylum and detention system that discredits the United Kingdom."
✍
@AlfDubs
Richard Radcliffe's hunger strike has just entered its 10th day. He is appealling to the UK government to do all it can to free Nazanin.
You can add your name to the petition asking for her release here
or follow the campaign here
@FreeNazanin
Thank you
Privileged to address
#LabourConference2018
on child refugees. This year is the 80th anniversary of the kindertransport. I am calling on the UK government to mark this important anniversary by committing to welcome 10000 unaccompanied refugee children over the next 10 years
It’s vital we protect EU children in care from an uncertain future after
#Brexit
. They are at risk of falling foul of the settled status scheme. I hope peers support the amendment to the Immigration Bill today to protect these uniquely vulnerable children
Illegal detention of migrants, a thread: Today’s High Court Ruling confirms it was illegal & irrational for the govt to detain refugees in prison-like conditions in
#NapierBarracks
. It was also inhumane and, at a time of pandemic, dangerous.
1/10