We need an effective and compassionate plan. Flickr/jpellgen. Some rights reserved.
Thirteen years ago I was a special adviser to the home secretary of the day, David Blunkett. I advised him on immigration and asylum policy, among other things, and one of my most important tasks was to negotiate a deal with the French government to tackle clandestine migration to the UK from the Pas de Calais and to close the so-called Sangatte centre, a large facility in which migrants lived while attempting to reach the UK.
Then, as now, the British public was fed a regular diet of TV news bulletins and newspaper stories about migrants risking life and limb to get the UK by stowing away on lorries or breaking into the Eurotunnel terminals. Sangatte came to symbolise a loss of order and control over the UK’s borders; it poisoned debate about immigration, and rendered it impossible for ministers to get a hearing for their policies. For David Blunkett, it was imperative to get it closed. Many refugee groups agreed with him, though neither proponent thought it was anything other than a symptom of wider crises.
