Mick Whitley
Main Page: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)Department Debates - View all Mick Whitley's debates with the Home Office
(3Â years ago)
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Mick Whitley (Birkenhead) (Lab)
Putting your life and the lives of your loved ones on the line, in the hands of people smugglers, is an act of total and utter desperation—a last resort for many people fleeing war and persecution when no alternative is available to them. Does the Home Secretary agree that expanding the range of safe and legal routes into the UK is essential if we are to address the situation unfolding in the English channel?
Priti Patel
I refer the hon. Gentleman to my earlier comments. Safe and legal routes cannot be delivered on their own. We will be working with international partners such as the UNHCR and the IOM, in the same way that we have done with the Syrian resettlement scheme, to ensure that we support those who are fleeing persecution. I hope that is a policy that he will support.