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Boris Johnson defends asylum seeker plan as Isle of Man asks: Is this a joke?

Boris Johnson insisted processing asylum seekers abroad would discourage people from trying to cross the Channel
Boris Johnson insisted processing asylum seekers abroad would discourage people from trying to cross the Channel
LUKE DRAY/GETTY IMAGES

Boris Johnson said that sending asylum seekers abroad for processing was a humane policy that would save lives.

Amid a furious backlash, the prime minister insisted his plan would help to discourage people from making dangerous attempts to cross the Channel and combat “traffickers and gangsters” who profit from people smuggling.

“The objective here is to save life and avert human misery because people are crossing the Channel who are being fooled, who are being conned, by gangsters, into paying huge sums of money, risking their lives,” he said last night.

“That’s why the home secretary has set out the tough series of proposals that you have seen. The objective is a humanitarian one and a humane one, which is to stop the abuse of