If the government goes ahead with proposals to detain asylum seekers on boats, it will be reopening a dark chapter in British history.
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, announced plans yesterday (29 March) to house several thousand male asylum seekers in disused military bases in Essex, Lincolnshire and East Sussex. But what really caught the eye was Jenrick’s other announcement. He said that the government was exploring the possibility of housing migrants on vessels such as disused cruise ships or barges. Detainment on ships is a policy with deep historical roots, and is highly evocative of the repressive and punishing regimes of Georgian and Victorian-era prison hulks.
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