LONDON: Anti-racism protesters marched in London on Saturday to denounce the government's plan to tackle cross-Channel migrant crossings by preventing arrivals from applying for asylum.
Nearly 2,000 protesters, many carrying signs reading no human being is illegal and bearing trade union logos, marched towards Downing Street, the prime minister's official residence.
Organisers said the demonstration was a response to the government's inhuman and illegal migration bill.
The people in this country are decent. The protest's planning officer, Mark Daly, said that they're willing to open their arms to people fleeing terrible circumstances.
The government is trying to make these people not only unwelcome but illegal. He said that we can't classify people as illegal. It's a racist policy from a racist government. Other protests took place in Glasgow, Scotland, and the Welsh capital Cardiff.
The Conservative government wants to outlaw asylum claims by all illegal arrivals, and transfer them to safe third countries, such as Rwanda, in order to stop thousands of migrants from crossing the Channel on small boats.
The bill proposes to prevent people from entering the country illegally from seeking asylum before they are sent to a third country deemed safe. Exceptions would be made for unaccompanied minors.
More than 45,000 migrants arrived in the UK last year by crossing the English Channel on small boats.