Migrant camp cleared away from outside Westminster Cathedral
Dozens of migrants sleeping rough outside Westminster Cathedral have been moved off for the second night in a row over the Easter weekend. Pictures taken from the makeshift encampment this morning showed men urinating in public against walls and sleeping on cardboard boxes. Some of the asylum seekers had erected small tents which they took with them. Others were seen disposing of their cardboard beds in nearby flowerbeds. The men were dispersed by security guards shortly after 8am however disgruntled locals have told MailOnline it is now a regular occurence in the opulent Central London borough. One man, who preferred to stay anonymous, told MailOnline locals were beginning to feel increasingly powerless over their situation. He said: 'There were dozens of them sleeping there when I was walking around at 7am this morning. 'They were sleeping on cardboard and dirty mattresses - some had little tents. At 8am, some grumpy looking security arrived to move them away. 'The migrants dumped their bedding in the flower beds and left. They have been coming back every night - nobody seems able to stop them. Dozens of migrants sleeping rough outside Westminster Cathedral have been moved It is the second night over the Bank Holiday weekend an encampment has been set up in the area Locals have said they feel powerless to stop the migrants turning up every night Some of the men have been seen urinating in the street and against walls Others have been seen washing themselves in public early in the morning The migrants have been storing their cardboard beds in flowerbeds near the site Security teams arrived at 8am this morning and forced the encampment to disperse 'Some of them were urinating in public against walls. It's not nice for local people or the cathedral. 'This is Easter weekend, there are constant services going on, it's not right.'The sorry display is the latest migrant incident to overshadow the bank holiday following the death of an asylum seeker in the channel yesterday. Officials brought a body ashore at the Port of Dover after Border Force and the RNLI responded to an incident aboard a migrant dinghy mid-crossing.Police confirmed they had launched an investigation into the 'circumstances leading to the man's death'.Last month, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper discussed sending asylum seekers to 'return hubs' in Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia with the head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.Under the proposals, the government would pay countries to accept migrants who have been rejected for asylum in the UK and have exhausted all avenues of appeals.The plans, described as a 'safe and legal resettlement route', were drawn up by the government as part of Sir Keir Starmer's approach to stop small boat arrivals.A total of 9,099 migrants in 162 boats have arrived in the UK by crossing the Channel so far this year - 81 per cent more than by this time in 2023. Now, in a major boost for the government, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has come up with its own proposals for what the return hubs should look like. Government insiders have said the backing of the radical plans by the organisation was 'vital' given the UNHCR's objection to the Rwanda scheme. The UN body previously intervened in the Conservative government's plan to tackle illegal migration leading it to being ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court. A total of 9,099 migrants in 162 boats have arrived in the UK by crossing the Channel so far this year - 81 per cent more than by this time in 2023 (file photo) Albania currently has two empty migrant detention centres after Italian plans to use them as asylum processing centres fell through
One source told The Times: 'It could be a game changer because it will help give us the necessary legal cover against any legal challenge and will also help us politically with our left-wing MPs who may have reservations.'Another added: 'Along with other countries, we are looking at how returns hubs could form a part of our commitment to rebuild confidence in the immigration and asylum system that was left in complete chaos by the Tories. 'We are in touch with UNHCR and welcome their work in this area.'The UNHCR document stated there was a need for an 'effective returns system' and said it would offer support to countries wanting to establish return hubs.It added, however, they would need to meet their legal standards and that it would continuously monitor the hubs to ensure that human rights standards were 'reliably met'. The Netherlands is also currently in discussions with the Ugandan government about the possibility of a return hub for migrants.Meanwhile, Albania currently has two empty migrant detention centres after Italian plans to use them as asylum processing centres fell through. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a visit to a military base on March 20 Since last year's election 28,267 small boats have crossed the English Channel without permission Last month, Yvette Cooper discussed sending asylum seekers to 'return hubs' in Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and North MacedoniaLabour has faced criticism over its decision to scrap the Tories' Rwanda asylum deal, which was designed to deter migrants from risking their lives in the Channel.Their scheme would contrast from the Conservative's Rwanda plans because they would only remove asylum seekers after their case was rejected.The Rwanda plan intended to send illegal migrants to the East African country before hearing their case.
