[Asian-American] When describing the expulsion of Asians from Uganda In North of South, Shiva Naipaul describes how a British MP suggested Asians be transported to an empty island and left to die. Who made this statement and does it reflect the UK's consensus at the time regarding refugees?

by vmosh

I recognize that this question is technically about the British-Asian experience, however I thought that it was close enough (details regarding Asian immigration to the West)

Follow up questions:

Is Naipaul's quotation accurate? Who was this liberal MP? Did her opinion reflect the general consensus of the UK with regard to accepting Ugandan refugees?

The full quotation occurs on page 100 of North of South. Naipaul writes, "But the British did not want these paper citizens. Nobody wanted them. One respected front-bench Labor politician, well known for her liberal views suggested that, on purely humanitarian grounds, the refugees should be transported to a conveniently empty island in the Indian Ocean, there to await gradual and discreet dispersal."

anirvan

This doesn't answer your question, but as clarification, BBC reported that "Cabinet papers just released from 1972 reveal how the Conservative Government of the time tried to find a remote island home for thousands of Ugandan Asians who eventually settled in Britain."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2619049.stm