Huddled messes
The elusive search for a firm, fair and workable asylum policy
IN DEALING with asylum seekers, the British government likes to think of itself as courageous. It is certainly energetic. On Monday, David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, unwrapped a new legislative package—the third in five years and the fifth since 1993. Once it is enacted, refugees who fail to co-operate with the immigration service—for example by destroying their documents—risk jail. The appeals process will be streamlined and maintenance payments trimmed. An already stringent asylum policy will become, in Mr Blunkett's words, “tough as old boots”.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Huddled messes”
From the November 1st 2003 edition
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