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Britain's asylum seeker policy should be set by Westminster, not Brussels

Thursay, 4th December 2008

Labour's decision to sign up to an EU-wide common asylum system could result in Westminster further losing control of Britain's borders today, after the European Commission announced proposals to modify the Common European Asylum System, the Conservative MEP for the East Midlands, Roger Helmer, said today.

The European Commission has proposed to amend two regulations and one of the directives making up the Common Asylum System. The changes concern detention of asylum seekers, and say that EU countries may not be allowed to return asylum seekers to the country where they first landed, in line with the Dublin convention.

Mr Helmer said:

"Decisions over the detention of asylum seekers and protection of our borders must be made in Westminster, not Brussels.

"One of the key responsibilities of any government is to control its borders, yet Labour has given this power away.

"There is a real immigration crisis on the borders of the EU, but it will only be dealt with through cooperation between governments, not by Brussels forcing countries to accept asylum seekers who have travelled northwards to the UK for economic reasons, rather than for their safety."