Iain Dale grills Green Party's Sian Berry over migrant crisis
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Iain Dale has lashed out on co-leader of the Green Party Sian Berry over views on Channel migrants arriving in the UK, accusing her of “not addressing the question”. This year marks a record-breaking year for migrants crossing to the UK.
Speaking on LBC news, the politician was adamant that the UK could do more to help migrants reaching Britain’s shores. Iain Dale pushed her to answer: “Are the French doing their best to prevent illegal migration?”
Ms Berry replied: “I think the French are doing their best and let’s all agree that we don’t want anybody risking their lives getting into unsafe, orgnised crime, organised trips across the channel.
“That is what we need to avoid- people risking their lives like that and I’m sure that the French authorities are doing their best to persuade people to settle in France.
Mr Dale interjected: “Really? Why would they do that?”
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“Why wouldn’t they think, actually, the more people we can get over to Britain, the better because we don’t have to cope with them?”
Ms Berry dissmissed the concern and pointed out: “I don’t think that’s what people working with asylum seekers in France are doing.
“These people have a good reason to want to be in the UK-that’s often a family connection, to do with education or language skills. We should be welcoming these people.
“There are just not that many of us. The idea that we’re taking more than our fair share from the camps in Syria and Lebanon. This is untrue. There are countries who’ve taken orders of magnitude.”
Mr Dale denied this and said: “Not from the camps there aren’t. We’ve taken more than every European country I’ve heard.”
Ms Berry said in response: “I don’t think that’s true Iain but I mean we can have a look at different schemes, but I know that the scheme where local authorities were accepting vulnerable people from Syria.
“We are not doing our best and we should be putting together ahead of time before there are millions and millions of climate refugees to deal with as well.”
She added: “There are international ways to help people, once they become refugees, not just to go to the first safe place and live as refugees for their lives, but to genuinely settle somewhere new, and build a life.”
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More than 9,450 people have arrived in the UK so for this year on board small boats.’
Under international law, people have the right to seek asylum in any country they arrive in.
If migrants are found in UK national waters, it is likely they will be brought to a British port.
If they are in international waters, the UK will work with French authorities to decide where to take them.
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