LONDON: Britain considered a plan to send asylum seekers 4,000 miles away to holding centres on its remote overseas territories in the south Atlantic but the idea, described as “ludicrous” by opponents, was later dropped, the Financial Times reported.
According to the paper, the Home Office (interior ministry) considered building migrant processing centres on the volcanic islands of Ascension and St Helena, having looked into how other countries dealt with issues of illegal migration. However, Home Secretary Priti Patel dropped the plan after officials were consulted on the practicality of shipping the asylum seekers to the locations, the FT said.