UK to speed up deportation of illegal migrants by changing law 

The government on Friday (21) announced its intention to introduce measures aimed at restricting the power of courts to prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants.

These measures are part of proposed legislation that will be presented to parliament next week.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has identified the prevention of the flow of asylum seekers and other migrants crossing the English Channel from France as a key priority for this year.

Last year, over 45,000 migrants arrived on the southern coast of England using small boats, a 500 per cent increase from two years ago. The government has projected that this number will increase to 56,000 in the current year.

"To speed up removals, amendments will make clear that the UK's domestic courts cannot apply any interim measure to stop someone being removed if they bring forward a legal challenge, aside from ... where they are at risk of serious and irreversible harm," Britain's interior ministry said in a statement.

Other changes to the law will allow undocumented migrants to be classed as adults if they refuse to undergo what the government described as "a scientific age assessment", and permit immigration officials to search migrants' mobile phones.

"The changes I am announcing today will help secure our borders and make it easier for us to remove people by preventing them from making last minute, bogus claims, while ensuring we strengthen our safe and legal routes," interior minister Suella Braverman said.

Charities supporting refugees say that Britain currently offers very limited options for most migrants to apply for asylum before entering the country, or to enter Britain legally with a view to making an asylum claim.

Britain's government is also seeking to discourage illegal immigrants by deporting them to Rwanda, regardless of their origin, but so far British courts have blocked this.

(Reuters)