Rishi Sunak accuses Irish of ‘cherry picking’ agreements as he steps up row over asylum seekers | EUROtoday

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Rishi Sunak dangers inflaming his row with Ireland over the return of asylum seekers after he accused the Irish authorities of “cherry picking” worldwide agreements.

The prime minister stated his administration was in search of “urgent clarification” there can be no new checkpoints at or close to the border with Northern Ireland as tensions between London and Dublin escalate.

Ireland has hit out at what it says is a excessive variety of latest arrivals coming from the UK.

It has stated it’ll redeploy 100 law enforcement officials to take care of the issue, though it has denied that these might be used alongside the border, the scene of a lot violence throughout the Troubles.

The Irish cupboard has additionally authorised a plan to start out returns to the UK, one thing Mr Sunak says the UK is not going to settle for.

An open border is a key tenet of the Good Friday Agreement, which introduced the Troubles to an finish.

Mr Sunak instructed MPs there might no be “cherry-picking” of worldwide agreements from the Irish authorities.

He stated the UK had “made commitments to keep away from a tough border on the island of Ireland and … the Irish authorities should uphold its guarantees too.

“We can’t have cherry-picking of important international agreements and so the Secretary of State is seeking urgent clarification that there will be no disruption or police checkpoints at or near the border.”

He added: “And I can confirm that the United Kingdom has no legal obligation to accept returns of illegal migrants from Ireland.”

He claimed his administration’s “robust approach to illegal migration” – his controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda – was proving a deterrent to migrants coming to Britain.

But he added “The answer is not sending police to villages in Donegal (near the border with Northern Ireland). It’s to work with us in partnership to strengthen our external borders all around the Common Travel Area that we share.”

The Irish Department of Justice has refused to publish an operational association it says offers for returning asylum seekers to the UK.

No 10 insists it’s “non-binding” and stated that Ireland has not returned anybody to the UK since Brexit.

On Sunday Irish premier Simon Harris stated Ireland wouldn’t “provide a loophole” for different international locations’ migration “challenges”.

Mr Sunak has said the UK is “not ” in any returns deal if the EU doesn’t enable the UK to deport asylum seekers again to France.