Speed up asylum processing rather than bang up claimants

12.00.00am GMT Mon 19th May 2008

Commenting on the Government's plans to build new immigration detention centres announced today, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said:

"Ministers should speed up processing rather than banging up claimants, and the obvious way is by setting up a Canadian-style independent agency to decide cases.

"At present, a fifth of asylum appeals are successful because politics hampers the decision-making.

"Another attempt to build a centre in Bicester that has already been mothballed once is unlikely to prove the magic bullet that this inhumane and ineffective policy needs."