Hello
Does Britain have the worst asylum dispersal system in Europe?
In Germany, they are scrupulously fair, dividing up newcomers in accordance with the size and wealth of regional population. France and Spain also have more logical, expeditious approaches.
But as Kate Lyons’ exclusive report on Monday reveals, in Britain the system deliberately sends most asylum seekers housed by the government to the poorest parts of the country. Places like Rochdale, where every 200th person is an asylum seeker. It certainly seems like a system ripe for reform.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for us at the new arrivals series hub: with our partners at Le Monde we’re keeping a close eye on Calais, where refugee numbers are once again on the rise. We’re looking very closely at how Britain treats Syrians who arrive here under their own steam.
And of course, we’re catching up with our chief protagonists, Afghan father and son Said and Wali Khan Norzai, who lost seven family members en route to the UK. We can report that they have been given an appeal date and are now trying to secure legal representation and prepare their case.
Watch this space.
Mark Rice-Oxley
