Deport migrants to secure camps, says Hungary's prime minister

Guarded compounds should be set up off "some shore of North Africa" to take those entering the EU illegally, it is argued.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (centre L) and his Bulgarian counterpart Boiko Borisov (centre R) inspect the barbed wire fence on the Bulgaria/Turkish border
Image: Hungarian PM Viktor Orban (centre L) and his Bulgarian counterpart Boiko Borisov (centre R) inspect the fence on the Turkish border
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Illegal immigrants entering the EU should be "rounded up and shipped out" to secure camps from where they can make asylum claims, Hungary's prime minister has said.

Viktor Orban told the Origo.hu news website that the guarded sites should be located off "some shore of North Africa", as he accused Germany of being unfair by trying to disperse would-be migrants within Europe.

A refugee woman on Hungary's fortified border with Serbia
Image: A refugee woman on Hungary's fortified border with Serbia

He said: "Those who came illegally must be rounded up and shipped out. 

"We must set up large refugee camps outside the EU, with armed security and financial support provided by the Union.

"Everyone who came illegally must return there. There, they can file for asylum." 

Mr Orban said the "grave moral task" was the only alternative to people staying in Europe and being relocated around the continent.

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Alex Crawford's report from on board a migrant boat

Hungary last year built razor-wired fences along its borders with Serbia and fellow EU state Croatia after almost 400,000 refugees fleeing conflict crossed its territory.

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Mr Orban, who is trying to build support for a referendum on 2 October against EU resettlement quotas for migrants, suggested Hungary should set a limit on the number of migrants it would accept. 

His government has been accused by human rights groups of encouraging xenophobia and intolerance.

Meanwhile, Britain has complained to its fellow EU country after Hungary released an official leaflet that claimed some parts of London were "no-go" areas because of illegal immigrants.

The leaflet, which also mentioned Paris, Brussels and Berlin, said: "Terrorists deliberately and in a well-organised fashion take advantage of the lack of control to melt into the crowds of immigrants."

A spokesman from the Foreign Office said: "This leaflet is clearly inaccurate. There are no areas in the UK in which the laws of the UK cannot be enforced."