News / Politics

UK offers to pay £2000 to refugees if they leave

Saturday, 15 October 2016 7:24 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 15 October 2016 7:33 PM ]

A group of Syrian refugees wait to arrive in Britain. (File photo)

The government of British Prime Minister Theresa May offers refugees £2000 to get them to leave the country, as it’s under mounting pressure to tackle the refugee crisis, a new report says.

The government confirmed that it has been offering £2,000 of taxpayers’ cash to “assist” return payments to each refugee, who accepts to leaves the UK, The Express reported Saturday.

The Home office said a total of 529 people have been paid the money since the government implemented the plan in January this year. It said the money is paid to help those returning to "find somewhere to live, find a job or start a business in their home country."

According to figures, the UK faces the highest asylum claims since 2004, Home Office officials said.

Politicians warned the government that “the scheme to pay illegal immigrants money will only encourage the problem,” the report said.

Lawmaker Mike Hookem, who described the new plan as “scandalous expose,” criticized May’s refugee policies, saying “when it came to border control Theresa May was an abject failure.”

The UK and other wealthy nations have resettled less than 2 percent Syrian refugees, Oxfam, the London-based world's leading charity said in March. (Photo by Reuters)

Back in September, the prime minister called for fortification of border controls; differentiation between refugees and economic migrants and finally reaffirming the “declaration of human rights” as the third principle.

She made the remarks in an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the world leaders had the refugee crisis high on their agenda. May, however, was criticized by more than 200 religious leaders as her government announced that it would tighten anti-refugee measures.

Europe, which is facing an unprecedented influx of refugees fleeing conflict-ridden zones in Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria, has so far refused to resettle meaningful numbers of them.

As a result, the refugees, who fled conflict-ridden zones in Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria, forced to choose a life in places, where they do not have access to healthcare, education, or work rights. They cross the Mediterranean Sea in the hope of reaching the wealthy European countries, including Britain.

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