Britain’s 40,000 small boat crossings are NOTHING, UN refugee chief argues

Filippo Grandi argued that previous Conservative Governments were responsible for fostering a sense of “chaos” around immigration in Britain.

The Italian diplomat, who was elected UN high commissioner for refugees in 2016, made the remarks in an interview conducted by the Australian actress Cate Blanchett on BBC Radio 4.

He warned that the right to seek asylum was “under threat around the world”.

Mr Grandi also urged Western Governments to provide more funding for his agency as it ramps up support for refugees travelling across the continent.

The 68-year-old, who is stepping down at the end of the month, used the interview to deliver a parting critique of politicians, arguing they were partly responsible for negative public attitudes towards migrants.

“There is nothing that creates a hostile environment as much as a badly organised welcome, and unfortunately we’ve seen that,” he said.

“In the UK, the small boats and the challenges of dealing with these people — and some of the choices that were made, which the Government is now trying to correct — have conveyed the wrong impression that this brings chaos.”

According to official figures, the number of migrants arriving in Britain by small boat this year has now passed 41,000.

The figure represents a significant challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to “smash the gangs” — a reference to people smugglers paid by asylum seekers to facilitate dangerous crossings of the English Channel.

Mr Grandi’s reference to “choices that were made” is likely to relate to the effective suspension of asylum processing under the Conservatives, which led to a substantial backlog of cases.

As a result, measures such as housing asylum seekers in hotels were introduced — a move that has sparked anger among some Britons and prompted regular demonstrations.

Labour has pledged to clear the backlog and move all asylum seekers out of hotels.

Mr Grandi said the number of people crossing the Channel this year was comparable to the number arriving each day in countries such as Chad.

He called for immigration systems in Western nations to be “much better organised”, including returning people who do not qualify for asylum.

“When this doesn’t happen, people say there’s no leadership in this chaos — it’s dangerous — and then they listen to those who say, ‘push back, build walls, don’t rescue people at sea’,” he said.

The diplomat also said British and other Western politicians must do more to help their own populations accept migrants.

In November, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled a radical plan to clamp down on the migrant crisis, including proposals to make refugee status temporary.

Guaranteed financial support for asylum seekers could also be scrapped under the changes.

She said the Government would also create new “safe and legal routes” for genuine refugees seeking to come to the UK.