“You say coming over on a ship is illegitimate, on a small boat?” That was the query Sky Information’ Kay Burley put to the international secretary, James Cleverly, this morning. He replied: “Sure”.
So, is he proper?
As FactCheck has beforehand reported, the reply is sophisticated.
Underneath current British legislation, it’s unlawful to enter the nation with no visa or particular permission. Which means somebody who reaches the UK on a small boat may resist 4 years in jail.
However individuals who make the Channel crossing are protected by worldwide legislation in the event that they declare asylum as soon as they arrive.
Which means they will’t be punished whereas their utility is being thought of – and in the event that they’re profitable, they gained’t be prosecuted for the way in which they arrived.
So, arriving by small boat is simply unlawful if you happen to don’t declare asylum – or if you happen to make an asylum declare and it’s rejected.
Although, even then, the probabilities of somebody being prosecuted are considered low.
Robert McNeil, deputy director of the Migration Observatory on the College of Oxford, defined to FactCheck final month: “I don’t suppose folks are usually prosecuted for irregular arrival if they’re unsuccessful in claiming asylum”.
