The UK government is clamping down on asylum seekers, potentially illegally. Nearly 46,000 refugees and migrants arrived in the United Kingdom last year on small boats across the English Channel, a major increase from the year before. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says stopping the boats is a priority for the British people. But both the United Nations and the European Union have called the plan illegal for the way it would treat people fleeing war and persecution. Even Sunak’s Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has acknowledged the plan may not be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. So why is the government pushing it forward?

In this episode: 

• Charlie Angela (@CharlieAJ), Al Jazeera correspondent

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Ashish Malhotra with Chloe K. Li and our host, Malika Bilal. Miranda Lin fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

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