UK Home Secretary Complains of Asylum Seeker ‘Invasion’

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the country faces an “invasion” from people travelling in small boats crossing the English Channel as she fought back against mounting pressure over her repeated security breaches.

Braverman was reappointed interior minister by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week {snip}

Speaking to parliament over allegedly failing to listen to legal advice on the prolonged detention of migrants at an asylum processing centre in southern England, Braverman said the current system is “broken” and “out of control”.

“Let’s stop pretending they are all refugees in distress, the whole country knows that is not true,” she said.

The comments came a day after a man threw petrol bombs attached to fireworks at an immigration centre in the southern English port of Dover on Sunday before killing himself.

Sunak, who became Britain’s third prime minister in two months last week, has seen his early days in office overshadowed by the row about her reappointment.

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Kim Johnson, a lawmaker said for the main opposition Labour Party, said Braverman’s language would embolden racists and extremists to attack vulnerable asylum seekers.

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A record number of asylum seekers have arrived in Britain on small boats across the Channel this year, with government figures showing more than 39,000 have arrived so far this year, up from 28,526 last year – with the highest number from Iran followed by Iraq, Eritrea and Syria.

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About a fifth of British voters say dealing with immigration is the most challenging issue facing the country, according to a YouGov poll published this month.

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