Politics
Liam O'Dell
Nov 17, 2023
BBC QT
After the Supreme Court ruled that the UK Government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his cabinet have been forced to go back to the drawing board – but one Question Time audience member suggested a shocking solution on Thursday.
While those on the right of the Conservative Party – such as sacked home secretary Suella Braverman – have called for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (or ECHR for short), a woman from Bridgwater in Somerset offered up puncturing the boats crossing the Channel and using drones to monitor those planning to make the treacherous journey from France.
She said: “What I think should be done is, you see all the migrants and the pirates putting them on the boats, why can’t the French have like a knife or something and just do it before it even gets in the water.”
Seeking clarification amid laughter from the rest of the audience, host Fiona Bruce replied: “Just to be clear, you mean you puncture the boats?”
The woman stood by her stance, adding: “Then the boats wouldn’t even be in the water for them to drown.”
And when Bruce pointed out that “a long coastline” making it “difficult” to be “in the right place at the right time” to even carry out such a proposed action.
The audience member then said: “You see them on television, where there’s a drone and they’re watching everybody coming out…”
The idea has been met with despair and disbelief by Twitter/X users, while others questioned why the rest of the audience were laughing at such a proposition:
Responding to the Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday during a Downing Street press conference, Mr Sunak said the UK needs to “end the merry-go-round” of legal challenges and he plans to do so through emergency legislation.
“This will enable parliament to confirm that with our new treaty, Rwanda is safe,” he said.
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