Britain is considering using old ferries moored off the UK coast to house asylum seekers.
Downing Street is giving serious thought to buying disused ferries and converting them into processing centres to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel from France, The Times reported.
The Home Office also held talks about buying retired oil platforms in the North Sea for processing.
However, the idea was rejected by ministers who believed it would pose logistical and safety issues.
Moving migrants onto ships is seen as a “more realistic” option to add to a list of suggestions to put to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
It comes after claims the UK was considering sending migrants to Ascension Island, an isolated British overseas territory in the south Atlantic.
It emerged Downing Street also explored sending migrants to Moldova, Morocco and Papua New Guinea.
The suggestion is reminiscent of Australia’s hardline offshore processing regime, a system which deterred migrants arriving on Australian shores but attracted criticism from the United Nations and human rights groups over the alleged abuse of refugees.
According to The Guardian, Downing Street asked the Foreign Office to "offer advice on possible options for negotiating an offshore asylum processing facility similar to the Australian model in Papua New Guinea and Nauru".
Officials were said to have “pushed back” on the suggestion of building UK processing facilities in other countries.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has previously pledged to make the Channel crossing “unviable” for migrants.
Speaking on BBC's Radio 4 Today programme, former director general of immigration enforcement David Wood described offshore processing as a "non-starter".
He said: "It would be detention by definition. You are taking someone where they don’t want to go."
But Tory MP Adam Holloway argued the UK had a "humanitarian duty" to make the "extremely dangerous" Channel crossing unappealing for asylum seekers.
"You’ve got to have some sort of deterrent," he said.
Five times as many migrants crossed the Channel in the first eight months of this year compared to the same period last year.
Nearly 5,500 migrants made the journey between January and September, according to Home Office statistics.
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) warned migrants making the crossing would be a persistent “cat and mouse” game for authorities.
NCA deputy director Matthew Long said: “At the heart of this is people, and we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that criminal groups, organised groups are exploiting and treating humans like a commodity.
"They are making money knowingly from putting them in incredibly life-threatening situations."
Refugee groups pleaded with the government to find other ways to solve the crisis rather than offshore processing.
Refugee Action chief executive Stephen Hale said: “This ludicrous idea is inhumane, completely impractical and wildly expensive. So it seems entirely plausible this Tory Government came up with it.”
Rossella Pagliuchi-Lor, the UK representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, added: “This is the Australian model and I think we have already seen that the Australian model has brought about incredible suffering on people who are guilty of no more than seeking asylum.”
The five pillars of Islam
Roll of honour
Who has won what so far in the West Asia Premiership season?
Western Clubs Champions League - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership - Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
West Asia Cup - Winners: Bahrain; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
West Asia Trophy - Winners: Dubai Hurricanes; Runners up: DSC Eagles
Final West Asia Premiership standings - 1. Jebel Ali Dragons; 2. Abu Dhabi Harlequins; 3. Bahrain; 4. Dubai Exiles; 5. Dubai Hurricanes; 6. DSC Eagles; 7. Abu Dhabi Saracens
Fixture (UAE Premiership final) - Friday, April 13, Al Ain – Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE%20PREMIERSHIP
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Pakistanis%20at%20the%20ILT20%20
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SPEC%20SHEET
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UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, Friday, March 29, 5pm at The Sevens, Dubai
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
West Indies v India - Third ODI
India 251-4 (50 overs)
Dhoni (78*), Rahane (72), Jadhav (40)
Cummins (2-56), Bishoo (1-38)
West Indies 158 (38.1 overs)
Mohammed (40), Powell (30), Hope (24)
Ashwin (3-28), Yadav (3-41), Pandya (2-32)
India won by 93 runs
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Hurricanes 31-31 Lions
Wellington Hurricanes:
Tries: Gibbins, Laumape, Goosen, Fifita tries, Barrett
Conversions: Barrett (4)
Penalties: Barrett
British & Irish Lions:
Tries: Seymour (2), North
Conversions: Biggar (2)
Penalties: Biggar (4)
Company%20profile
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More on animal trafficking
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Remaining fixtures
- August 29 – UAE v Saudi Arabia, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
- September 5 – Iraq v UAE, Amman, Jordan (venue TBC)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
