Know Your Enemy

"Seriously below the standards to be expected of a humane and civilised society".

The Independent Asylum Commission's report on the UK asylum system, which also made reference to it being "marred by inhumanity", to its "perverse and unjust decisions" and to the use of "indefensible" threats to force asylum seekers out of the country.

Of course, the report's been grist to the Tories' mill, seized upon by Shadow Home Secretary David Davis as a stick to beat Labour with (while making the all-important mention of "the British taxpayer"). But it also carries a warning for those same taxpayers, the British public, referring to "'hopelessly confused' public perception of asylum and its place in the immigration system".

Responsibility for the confusion and conflation of the two issues, and for shaping public perception, lies largely with the Daily Mail and Daily Express, of course. So, are they and the mainstream media in general likely to hold their hands up and concede culpability? Not likely. At the time of writing, the Mail's homepage is carrying over 30 news items, and not one of them is about the Commission's report. There is, however, room for one story about a fat fox and another about a "row" over a researcher at the University of Essex being given an "£82,000 taxpayer grant" to investigate the experiences of Irish LGBT people in London...

The Refugee Council's reaction to the report can be found here.