UK Government Importing Asylum Seekers Directly from Greece Under ‘Family Reunification’

The British government has revealed it is flying in asylum seekers directly from Greece, while record numbers of illegal immigrants continue to arrive on UK shores in boats.

On Friday, the government announced that 28 more people had been imported to Britain, as “the latest in a series of flights which has brought asylum seekers to the UK from Greece to reunite with family”.

The migrants hail from Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, and Bangladesh, and “will now be allowed to have their asylum claim assessed alongside their family members”, a government news briefing said.

“Throughout the pandemic, the UK has remained open and fully committed to family reunification,” the so-called Conservative government proclaimed, boasting that “through resettlement schemes, the UK resettles more refugees than any other country in Europe and are in the top five countries worldwide”.

At the general election last year, the Tories were voted back into power with the promise to reduce immigration, while polls have consistently shown that a majority of the British public would like to see a large reduction in the number of migrants.

The announcement came as it was revealed that the total number of illegal immigrants officially recorded as having made it to British shores by boat this year had passed 7,000 — more than triple the figure recorded in 2019.

Some 9,500 asylum seekers who have arrived in Britain are reportedly being accommodated at taxpayers’ expense in 91 hotels around the country. Between 20 and 50 hotels — including four-star establishments — are reported to be benefiting from a £4 billion ten-year contract with the government to house migrants.

Others are living at disused military facilities such as Napier Barracks, where illegal immigrants are provided with taxpayer-funded mobile phones, as well as having access to “TVs, WiFi and sports equipment”, according to BBC reporter Simon Jones.

Home Secretary Priti Patel commented: “I am delighted that we can bring families, who have suffered the trauma of being separated, back together. These individuals, most of whom are children, are now able to be in the UK alongside their loved ones.

“Such arrivals show that our commitment to those in need of protection has not wavered, even in the midst of a global pandemic.

“Legal and viable routes to the UK demonstrate that it is not necessary for people to try and reach the UK via dangerous journeys, such as across the Channel.”

News that Britain is importing migrants directly from Greece came days after the United Nations (UN) told MPs that illegal immigration was “not a threat” to Britain. The organisation demanded the country do more to open “safe and legal pathways” for migration from the third world, such as through the expansion of family reunification.

Far from presenting a danger to the UK, illegal immigrants from the world’s poorest countries could, in fact, be a boon for British taxpayers, according to the international body, which alleged that the only “risks” of the situation were those posed to migrants’ lives at sea, and critical media reporting of the phenomenon.