In a statement to The Mirror, the Falkland Islands Assembly said no decisions about immigration would be made without its consent after Reform MP Sarah Pochin refused to rule out sending asylum seekers there
Leaders in the Falkland Islands have issued a sharp warning to Nigel Farage after a Reform MP refused to rule out sending asylum seekers there.
In a statement to The Mirror, the territory’s Assembly accused Mr Farage’s party of misunderstanding the islands’ right to govern itself. The spiky response came after his trusted lieutenant Sarah Pochin declined to rule out deporting migrants to the Falklands if her party gets into power.
The Assembly said: “The Falkland Islands are a self-governing British Overseas Territory, and we are responsible for all of our own domestic affairs, including immigration. The suggestion that decisions those kind of decisions could be made without our consent misunderstands both our constitutional status and our right to self-determination.
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“Our principle is clear: no decision about us, without us.” During a Westminster Hall debate on Monday, Runcorn and Helsby MP Ms Pochin declined to rule out sending asylum seekers to British Overseas territories including Falklands or Gibraltar.
Gibraltar has already said it will play no part in such a plan. Its government shot back on Thursday: “Immigration policy is the competence of the Government of Gibraltar, which rejects the idea of processing asylum seekers here as a matter of policy.”
Although Mr Farage has pledged to deport around 600,000 people in five years, it is unclear where they would go and how much it would cost.
Ms Pochin was challenged by Labour MP Luke Charters to categorically rule out sending asylum seekers to the Falklands and other overseas territories. He said it would be “deeply troubling” and “deeply unrealistic”.
He later asked Ms Pochin: “Reform UK have mooted the idea of using British overseas territories as part of their asylum processing plans. Would you use this occasion now to rule out any asylum processing either taking place in the Falklands or Gibraltar as part of Reform UK policies?”
Ms Pochin responded: “No, I will not rule out any possible policy.” She then refused to take any follow-up questions.
The Falkland Islands assembly said in its statement: “We are proud to have cross-party support in the UK for the Falkland Islanders’ right to determine our own future, and we welcome contact from any UK parties or MPs who wish to better understand the Islands, our people, and our system of government.”
Following Ms Pochin’s refusal to rule the move out, Labour MP Kevin Bonavia said: “We had the honorable member for Runcorn not rule out the use of the Falklands, islands that we fought for so hard in 1982 against Argentinian invasions, now apparently being used for dispersion – you didn’t rule it out.”