Author Archives: Clare Sambrook

The Independent View: Child detention – mind the gap between rhetoric and reality

‘Today marks a big culture shift within our immigration system,’ said Nick Clegg two weeks ago, announcing plans purporting to end child detention. ‘That practice, the practice we inherited, ends here,’ he said.

Sadly, it didn’t end there.

Liberal Democrats interested in these matters might take a look at two dossiers of evidence compiled by End Child Detention Now and published on openDemocracy.

Mind the Gap! Coalition claims and realities for child detention in the UK tests the new ‘compassionate approach to family returns’ as expressed in government documents released on December 16

Drawing on evidence elsewhere, for instance an HMIP report on …

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged | 18 Comments

The Independent View: Please make sure they really do end child detention

Liberal Democrats are understandably confused about whether child detention is ending or not.

Nick Clegg got the commitment to end child detention into the Coalition Agreement. Only last Thursday Sarah Teather promised: ‘Rest assured. It will be done.’ She also said: ‘We have to be careful not to rush into this as we are dealing with the safety and well-being of often vulnerable children and it is essential it is done properly.’

Quite how children’s safety might be served by not rushing to end a practice proven to wreck their lives is a mystery that suggests leading Liberal Democrats have been

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged , , , and | 26 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Big Tall Tim
    VERY well said James and Tristan....
  • tom arms
    And is it or is it not a perfect opportunity for Ed Davey to make waves, political capital and foreign policy? And-- given his past pronouncements on Trump-- is...
  • paul barker
    I agree with almost every word of this but I must point out that The Green performance involved a great deal of luck, in getting a winnable By-election at the r...
  • Hywel
    Nicely played David Green :-)...
  • Peter Davies
    @David Allen: Indeed. writing good articles for LDV is an ideal way to start....