Steve Valdez-Symonds

Update: Shortly after this blog was written, Hungary did announce its intention to seal off its border with Croatia at midnight on Friday 16 October. Our researchers will be following developments closely to see if that is indeed what...

On Sunday, Justice Secretary Michael Gove said on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show: “We cannot shut ourselves off from what happens globally.” But this is precisely what the government has been doing over the global refugee crisis. At...

Europe’s refugee ‘crisis’ continues to dominate headlines. This week, EU external border agency Frontex reported a record number of 107,500 people had arrived at Europe's borders irregularly – that is without permission and via...

Philip Hammond's recent remarks on the situation at Calais are reckless and they are shameful, but sadly they're also all too familiar. Once again, a senior minister is cranking up the rhetoric and stoking up anxiety, careless - or...

The situation at Calais is far from new. Calais has long been a place to which refugees and other migrants have come in the hope of getting to the UK. In 2002, it was mostly Iraqis and Afghans. Now there appears to be a wider range of...

This week, Amnesty supporters and thousands of people across the UK are celebrating Refugee Week , recognising the contribution to our country made by refugees – not only the more well-known faces – but also the many friends...

Last year, Italy ended Operation Mare Nostrum – its search and rescue mission in the Mediterranean. This was a proactive and effective mission in international waters seeking out boats in distress and rescuing tens of thousands of...