Today we will learn exactly what Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood meant when she hinted last week that the government would adopt a Danish-style migration policy to deter new arrivals. One thing she will announce is a ban on visas for nationals of three countries which she says are not taking back enough failed asylum seekers: Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The ban may be extended to other countries later.

How about withdrawing aid from any country which refuses to take back every single one of its failed asylum-seekers?

It is a pretty token gesture. None of these three were in the top 20 countries for illegal migrant arrivals in 2024 – they come under ‘other countries’, which accounted for a total of 1,487 arrivals between them. Why not start with Afghanistan (5,919........

© The Spectator