Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to enable people to (a) claim asylum in the UK in Calais and (b) travel safely to the UK once their application has been made.
Whilst we sympathise with people in many difficult situations around the world, we could not possibly consider protection claims from the very large numbers of people overseas who might like to come to the UK. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.
Our focus is on helping people directly from regions of conflict and instability, and we believe that our resettlement programmes are the best way to provide much needed support.
Although we do not allow claims from abroad, I can confirm, all asylum claims that are admitted to the UK asylum system, are given full and careful consideration so that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm to their country of origin.