I am sick of the way that people seeking sanctuary are being treated by the UK Government. With a new Prime Minister in office, now is the time to build an asylum system that does not harm the health and wellbeing of the people in it – but treats them with dignity, humanity, and care.
As your constituent, I am asking that you write to the new Prime Minister to address these concerns, and urging him to:
Create more safe routes to the UK for those within and outside Europe to prevent unnecessary deaths in the Channel and end the manufactured humanitarian crisis in northern FranceReplace dangerous, harmful asylum accommodation and mass containment sites with safe and dignified housingEnd harmful practices that lead to medical crises, endanger children and families, and compound pre-existing traumaRespect the rights and dignity of people seeking sanctuary, upholding their protections under international law.
A full briefing can be found in the link at the bottom of this email, detailing some of the harms that Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) UK has found their patients face at the hands of the UK asylum system. There is no doubt that UK policies are directly harming the mental and physical health of people seeking sanctuary, both in northern France – where the UK funds violent border policing and dangerous pushbacks – and closer to home, where mass containment sites and hotels have become home to misery, ill-health, and compounded trauma.
Andy Burnham has already signalled that he is willing to continue down this dangerous route and let these harmful practices continue. But it’s not too late to change course.
Please reply to this email to let me know whether you are writing to the Prime Minister on this issue, and what his response is.
Sincerely,