In response to the Home Office’s Borders Bill introduced to parliament today (6 July), Steve Valdez-Symonds, Refugee and Migrants Rights Programme Director at Amnesty International UK, said:

“This shockingly-bad bill will fatally undermine the right to asylum - both in the UK and elsewhere.

“Instead of introducing this piece of utter legislative vandalism, what the Home Office should be doing is establishing safe routes for the relatively few people escaping persecution who wish to seek asylum here.

“This reckless and deeply-unjust bill is set to bring shame on Britain’s international reputation. It will open the door to other countries also seeking to dismantle a global refugee system which has saved countless lives.

“This is a shameful dereliction of duty from the Home Secretary. If the bill goes through, the UK will have reneged on key international commitments - including the Refugee Convention, put in place after the horrors of World War Two.”