Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has called for Nigel Farage to issue an apology for his involvement in the small boat crisis. Speaking at his party’s conference in Bournemouth, Sir Ed criticized Farage for his role in the loss of a returns agreement following Brexit, which is believed to have facilitated the increase in trafficking responsible for Channel crossings.
Sir Ed emphasized that prior to Brexit, the UK had 27 return agreements with EU countries, enabling the return of individuals. However, Farage, Boris Johnson, and the Conservatives’ actions led to the termination of these agreements, resulting in the current crisis. Sir Ed highlighted the impact of losing access to the Dublin agreement, which allowed asylum seekers to be sent back to their initial EU entry point, creating a situation where the UK could not return individuals to Europe.
During a fringe event at the conference, the idea of referring to small boats crossing the Channel as “Brexit boats” was discussed as a means of attributing responsibility to Brexit’s proponents. Supporters of this notion argued that remaining in the EU would have enabled the UK to return individuals arriving on boats back to their point of entry.
Critics of Sir Ed’s stance have challenged the effectiveness of the Dublin agreement, citing low acceptance rates for outgoing requests. Home Office data from 2015 to 2018 reveals that only a small percentage of outgoing requests under the agreement were approved for transfer. The statistics show that the UK made numerous outgoing requests to transfer individuals to other EU states, with a relatively low number of successful transfers, while a significant number of incoming requests were made to transfer individuals into the UK, of which a higher proportion were granted.
The debate surrounding the small boat crisis and its connection to Brexit continues to spark differing opinions and interpretations among political figures and observers.
