Ascension Island: From the island in Lost to Atlantis... where else might Suella Braverman send refugees?

The government is considering sending asylum seekers who arrive ‘illegally’ in the UK to Ascension Island.

This tiny, volcanic isle is located about 4,000 miles from the UK - in the middle of the South Atlantic - and currently has a population of around 800. Sending refugees here for “offshore processing” was actually considered by the government before, but the Foreign Office’s own research decided it was “unviable”.

Some of the reasons given for this include the fact that there is no hospital on the British overseas territory - and that there are “inadequate” water and energy supplies. Regardless, ministers have now revived the idea in an indication that, despite their protestations, they are concerned their current hopes of deporting migrants to Rwanda may be scrapped by the Supreme Court.

In further fallback options, the Home Office is also in negotiations with up to five other countries - all believed to be in Africa - in order to arrange a scheme similar to the one organised with Rwanda. Some have guessed these may be the same countries which Boris Johnson’s government previously engaged in talks with: Ghana, Nigeria, Namibia, Morocco, and Niger - the latter of which is currently embroiled in a military coup.

So, if the prerequisites for refugee “processing” are, as it appears, places which are “unviable” and where it makes no sense to send asylum seekers - there are a few other options the government could consider too. NationalWorld has come up with just a few:

The Lost Island

If ministers are indeed looking for somewhere they can send asylum seekers and just forget about them, they should consider the fictional island that features in popular television series Lost (2004 - 2010).

The characters in this show end up on the remote, seemingly deserted isle after a plane crash - some subsequently disappear, which would apparently solve some of the government’s problems. The island also has a fair deal of strange, mystical qualities - so maybe ministers can track down a ‘stop the boats’ button.

North Sentinel Island

People are actually forbidden from travelling within three miles of North Sentinel Island in India, in order to protect the native inhabitants and prevent harm to visitors. However, the government hasn’t previously protested to treading the legality line when it comes to their solutions to the asylum crisis - (Home Secretary Suella Braverman previously admitted her Illegal Migration Bill “pushes the boundaries of international law”) - so there shouldn’t be a problem here.

Atlantis

Atlantis is, admittedly, another fictional island - but this hasn’t stopped people searching high and low for it all around the world.

So we thought the government may want to get involved and invest significant amounts of money and time into tracking down the isle, (which was first mentioned in the works of Plato) - instead of developing the viable and workable solutions to the asylum crisis which have been suggested by experts.

Spitbank Fort

On an entirely different note, perhaps ministers may want to consider somewhere like Spitbank Fort as a “processing” destination for asylum seekers. Located off the coast of Portsmouth, this interesting stronghold is essentially a mini private island - it’s accessible only by boat, and boasts a roof terrace, pool, sauna, and eight luxury guest suites.

This may sound like somewhere too nice to send migrants, according to the government’s standards, but Suella Braverman did previously label the accommodation built for refugees in Kigali, Rwanda as “beautiful” - and say she wanted the name of the interior designer! Spitbank Fort is definitely a place of interesting interior design so the Home Secretary must want to take a look, and it’s also on sale for the price of £3 million, which is a lot less than the government has previously been spending on housing asylum seekers.

Rishi Sunak and/or Suella Braverman’s home

If anywhere is a possibility, why should the homes of the Prime Minister and Home Secretary be off limits as options? Then again, it must be said, these locations probably have water and energy supplies which are far too “adequate” when one considers the previously mentioned requirements. They’re also within proximity of the hospital, so there would be some room for debate.