Anywhere But Here by award-winning journalist Nicola Kelly will be released to critical acclaim in April after former Green MP Caroline Lucas called it “a brilliant and hugely timely book” that “should be on every desk not just in the Home Office, but throughout government.”
The book is a deeply researched exposé of Britain’s asylum system, which Kelly portrays as intentionally hostile and alarmingly broken. With unique access to frontline operations and policy corridors, Anywhere But Here takes readers behind the scenes of the small boats crisis, offering an unflinching look at the systemic failures that define the UK’s approach to asylum seekers.
A Close-Up on Crisis
In Anywhere But Here, Kelly explores the underfunded and overburdened Coastguard teams tasked with rescue missions in the Channel, the Home Office decision-makers with minimal training conducting high-stakes asylum interviews, and the immigration barristers fighting against the odds to save their clients from deportation.
At the heart of the book are the voices of asylum seekers themselves—individuals and families fleeing war, persecution, and trafficking in search of safety in the UK. Kelly brings their stories to life with compassion and urgency, shining a light on both the injustices they face and the resilience they display.
A Timely Call to Action
Lucas’s endorsement underscores the importance of the book as a resource for policymakers. Her call for copies of Anywhere But Here to be placed “on every desk” in government speaks to its potential to influence reform and change public understanding of Britain’s asylum system.
Released at a time when immigration and asylum policy dominate headlines—from the controversial Rwanda deportation scheme to the lingering effects of the Windrush scandal—Anywhere But Here offers essential context and challenges reductive narratives surrounding asylum seekers.
As Caroline Lucas notes, this is “a brilliant and hugely timely book.”
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