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Rishi Sunak provides update on 'stop the boats' pledge
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has said that the cost of the Government’s plans to send migrants to Ascension Island would be £1million per asylum seeker.
Ministers are looking to revive plans to set up a processing centre for migrants on the British overseas territory, located in the South Atlantic, if the Rwanda policy fails.
The GB News presenter and former Cabinet minister said on Monday: “I was involved in some of the discussions looking at this whilst I was a member of the Government and unfortunately it would cost at least a million pounds per person you sent there to do it.
“You’ve got to send out Portakabin residences for your builders, then you’ve got builders who have to live there whilst they’re doing the building, then you have to build the premises for the migrants to live in, then you’ve got to persuade people that they want to go and live on Ascension Island for long periods to run the centre.
“And the costs just went up and up and up and up. And that’s why when I was involved in the discussions, it was just thought to be impossibly expensive to do.”
READ MORE: Illegal migrants could be sent to Ascension Island in ‘plan B’ if Rwanda fails
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The use of the volcanic island, located 4,000 miles from the UK, is part of the Government’s “Plan B” contingencies under consideration if the Rwanda deportation scheme, which was ruled “unlawful”, fails to be appealed in the Supreme Court.
The use of UK territories would only be for processing asylum seekers rather than as a permanent destination.
As of Tuesday morning, more than 18,400 Express.co.uk readers are divided on sending migrants to Ascension Island with 54 percent against the policy compared with 46 percent in favour – share your thoughts in our poll.
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Talks about reviving the policy which was rejected three years ago come as the Government marks “small boats week” with a series of announcements on the migrant crisis.
More than 15,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledging to “stop the boats”.
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