The Know Daily - Tuesday 20 June 2023

_{Read in 5m 24s ∙ Listening to Joni Mitchell}

We encourage you to check out this otterly amazing clip of Juno, a sea otter at Oregon Zoo, playing basketball as a way of exercising her elbow joints. Now that’s a game we’d buy front-seat tickets for!

🌍 A World Refugee Day report

A new survey has found that 65% of the UK public thinks it’s important that the right to seek asylum is maintained in this country.

What else did the survey find?
Over 2,000 UK adults were polled by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and YouGov earlier this month. 67% of respondents also said that they would want to be able to choose which country they sought asylum in if they had to flee the UK.

The new data, published to coincide with the UN’s World Refugee Day, comes as parliament continues to debate the government’s controversial so-called Illegal Migration Bill.

Remind me what the bill’s about?
The bill, which has already passed the Commons but is facing strong opposition in the Lords, is aimed at “stopping” small boats from crossing the English Channel. It will place a legal duty on the home secretary to detain those arriving in the UK illegally, deporting them to Rwanda or another “safe” third country.

What have campaigners said?
The bill has prompted criticism from human rights campaigners, who argue that it is unworkable, endangers modern slavery victims and could breach international law.

Off the back of today’s survey, the IRC has called on the government to consider the “potentially devastating” impact of the bill. “Our new polling demonstrates that the British public thinks it’s important to maintain [the right to seek asylum] and continue to offer sanctuary to those who need it,” said a spokesperson for the charity.

What has the government said?
The Home Office has argued that the legislation would send “a clear message that the exploitation of people ferried across the Channel must end”. “We remain committed to ensuring the bill passes through Parliament as soon as possible so we can stop the boats,” they added.

Is there anything else I should know?
Europe’s handling of the migrant crisis has come into sharp focus in recent days after an overcrowded fishing vessel carrying hundreds of people capsized off the coast of Greece last Wednesday.

The UN has called for an investigation amid claims that the coastguard should have acted sooner and done more to help those onboard.