Scottish islands not ruled out by Westminster as site to process asylum seekers

The move has been met with criticism from the Labour party.

The UK Government has not ruled out using a Scottish island as a site to process asylum seekers.

Secretary of State Priti Patel has revealed that she is considering offshoring asylum seekers to be processed.

The Herald has reported that a Downing Street spokesperson has refused to rule out locations close to the British mainland, including the Scottish islands, after it was released that the Ascension Island in the mid-Atlantic, was considered an option.

The most southerly of the inhabited islands in the Outer Hebrides, Barra is home to beautiful beaches.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "But what we are looking to do is ensuring that we provide protection for those who need it.

“We do need to prevent abuse of the system, whereby gangs are charging people significant amounts of money to try to get to the United Kingdom.

"I think it is important that people are deterred from making life-threatening journeys, and that they claim asylum in the first safe country which they reach."

Priti Patel. Pic: Peter Summers/Getty Images

Processing asylum seekers at an offshore site has been met with criticism from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who called it “inhumane” and “inappropriate.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.