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Press Releases for July 2007
July 23, 2007
MigrationWatch comment on housing Green Paper issued today
July 23, 2007
Big majority for human rights opt-out over terror threat
July 9, 2007
New UK human rights laws needed to counter new threat
July 3, 2007
Government were warned over security weaknesses of visa system
Full Text of Releases : July 2007
July 23, 2007
MigrationWatch comment on housing Green Paper issued today
Today's Green Paper on the supply of housing is notable for one major omission - it ignores the fact that of the three million homes the Prime Minister says are to be built by 2020, one million will be needed for new immigrants.
Even that estimate assumes that immigration will fall by 30% in the next couple of years and then stay flat. As yet there is no evidence of this occurring.
Said Sir Andrew Green, chairman of think-tank, Migrationwatch: 'Despite their Manifesto pledge of firm control over immigration, this government has encouraged the immigration of over two million people since 1997 but has done virtually nothing to increase the supply of housing. It is no wonder we have a housing crisis.
'The Prime Minister keeps ducking the issue of immigration both in general and with specific regard to housing, yet the proposals to build on the scale proposed will have a major effect on many communities across the country.
'Serious measures to achieve a sharp reduction in immigration must now be the first step in tackling the housing crisis which is such a serious concern to every family - especially when many of the proposed new homes are planned for areas vulnerable to flooding,’ he said.
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July 23, 2007
Big majority for human rights opt-out over terror threat
There is overwhelming public support for a much tougher line to be taken against terrorists and suspected terrorists including withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights reveals a new poll out today.
The YouGov poll conducted on behalf of think-tank Migrationwatch showed that, when asked if the UK should renounce its membership of the Convention in order to have greater powers to deal with suspected and convicted terrorists, 61% agreed. Just 26% supported the proposition that Britain should remain a member of the Human Rights Convention, and not reduce human rights in response to the terrorist threat.
There was even greater support for the proposal that, having withdrawn, we should issue a warning and then deport convicted terrorists without further appeal - even to countries where they might face torture, with 67% in favour and 18% against. This view was held fairly uniformly across the UK and within different social groups, although the opposition to it among younger people was in the mid-20's.
When asked if Britain should have, and use, the right to deport foreigners suspected by the intelligence services, even if there is not enough court room evidence to bring them to trial, and they might be sent to countries where they could be tortured, 55% said we should while 26% were opposed.
There was a stronger response when asked whether Britain should have, and use, the right to imprison foreign terrorist suspects for as long as the authorities' judge necessary, unless they choose to return to their home countries, with a massive 75% supporting the proposition and just 13% opposed.
'These results demonstrate that the British people are tired of seeing the interests of those intent on destroying our way of life being put before the safety of themselves and their families,' said Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch.
'Most people find it totally incomprehensible that convicted terrorists are able to remain in Britain after they have completed their prison sentences. Our continued membership also means we have lost the ability to remove people from this country even when there is good intelligence that their presence here is a real or potential risk to public safety.
'We accept that the ECHR was right for the time in which it was created, 50 years ago, but we are now in an entirely new situation and the public clearly believe that it is time that this new reality was recognised - and acted upon,' he said.
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July 9, 2007
New UK human rights laws needed to counter new threat
The terrorist suspects arrested this week will be able to remain in Britain indefinitely and at public expense whether or not they are found guilty. That is the conclusion of a report issued today by think-tank Migrationwatch which also recommends that we pull out of the ECHR and write our own human rights law appropriate to the new age of terrorism.
The report points out that Britain's continued adherence to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is an attraction for terrorists to operate in and from Britain, secure in the knowledge that, even if convicted, they cannot be deported after serving their sentences.
Article 3 of the Convention prohibits torture or inhumane treatment in member countries. It has been extended by case law to prohibit deportation to countries where there is a risk of such treatment. It is no longer possible, therefore, to balance the risk to the deportee against the risk that he might pose to British society.
The ECHR also inhibits action against foreign citizens suspected of terrorism. Indefinite detention was struck down by the Law Lords in 2004. The replacement measures, Control Orders, have been so weakened by the courts that seven suspects have already absconded.
The report therefore recommends that Britain should withdraw from the ECHR giving 6 months notice, as is her right. At the same time, there should be a public announcement that, from the date of withdrawal, any foreign citizen arrested and subsequently convicted of a terrorist offence will be deported to his own country on completion of his sentence with a right of appeal that could only be exercised after departure.
Suspicion of terrorist offences would not be sufficient to justify deportation but the new terrorist threat requires that provision be made for lengthy periods of detention in the interests of public safety.
Thus, the ECHR and the 1998 Human Rights Act (which is based on it) should be replaced by a revised Act which, while preserving intact human rights generally, excludes convicted terrorists and provides for the long term detention of terror suspects.
Some have claimed that withdrawal from the ECHR would require withdrawal from the EU but the report makes it clear that this is false.
Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migrationwatch UK, said ‘We now face a terrorist threat of a completely different order from past threats. We are told that there are literally thousands of suspects some of whom are prepared to mount suicidal attacks against entirely civilian targets. The ECHR renders foreign terrorists safe from deportation and, in effect, provides them with a meal ticket for life. It was drawn up 50 years ago in entirely different circumstances. We must now pull out of it and write our own laws to protect human rights for the majority.’
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July 3, 2007
Government were warned over security weaknesses of visa system
It emerged today that the Government were warned two years ago that the system of visa checks was inadequate for countries where there were particular concerns over terrorism.
Think-tank Migrationwatch issued a warning on 23 August, 2005 that pressure on our visa sections could compromise security. The report said that large numbers of people from countries of concern were, in effect, being waved through the system because of pressure on immigration officers overseas to meet targets.
Commenting today, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migrationwatch, said: ‘People are rightly concerned that our border controls have been allowed to crumble and they question why it is so easy for people to get into this country with only the most cursory of checks. The latest terrorist incidents should be a wake up call for the new government. It is not just a question of medical staff, the issue of all visas in countries which have a track record as a source of terrorism should now be subject to a root and branch review. Only those applicants interviewed by a UK based immigration officer should be permitted to enter Britain. The government has powers to take specific measures of this kind where necessary for immigration purposes. It should use them. The whole system needs tightening up in view of the risks we now face.’
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