Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has denied that her plans to clamp down on illegal immigration are “racist” – instead describing them as a “moral mission”.
Shabana Mahmood said illegal immigration was causing “huge divides” in the UK, and added: “I do believe we need to act if we are to retain public consent for having an asylum system at all.”
Politics latest: Mahmood dismisses ‘tittle-tattle’ over leadership rumours
Speaking on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Ms Mahmood said the government would set out changes to the asylum system in a bid to reduce the “pull factor” for those arriving in the UK via small boat.
The home secretary has been looking to Denmark for inspiration, where there are tighter rules on family reunions and restrictions on how long refugees can stay.
Follow our channel and never miss an update.
Measures that are expected to be announced on Monday include changing the rules so that people who are granted asylum in the UK will only be allowed to stay temporarily, and will have their refugee status subject to regular review.
The statutory legal duty to provide asylum seeker support, including housing and weekly allowances, is expected to be revoked.
Home secretary vows to end UK’s ‘golden ticket’ for asylum seekers – as Denmark-based reforms to be unveiled
Refugee status set to become temporary in radical asylum reforms
Legal challenge over asylum seekers at Epping hotel fails
Ms Mahmood said such changes were needed to fix the “broken” asylum system.
‘Moral mission’
But asked how she would respond to those who believe the government has been “panicked into a racist immigration policy”, Ms Mahmood said: “I reject that entirely.”
“I am the child of immigrants,” she said. “My parents came to this country legally, in the late 60s and early 70s. This is a moral mission for me.”
Ms Mahmood said she had observed how illegal migration had been “creating division across our country”.
“I can see that it is polarising communities across the country. I can see that it is dividing people and making them estranged from one another. I don’t want to stand back and watch that happen in my country.”
Under current UK rules, people who are granted refugee status have it for five years and can then apply for indefinite leave to remain and get on a route to citizenship.
The government has already announced it will change the rules around indefinite leave to remain with a new set of requirements, including how much someone contributes to the UK and higher English language requirements.
The move to impose tighter restrictions have been interpreted as a way for Labour to counter the threat posed by Nigel Farage and Reform UK, which has laid out plans to deport people who already have ILR – which gives people the right to settle, work and study in the UK and even claim benefits, even if they do not then apply to be British citizens.
Ms Mahmood said that highlighting issues in the system did not amount to making “right-wing talking points or fake news” and that the government had a “genuine problem to fix”.
“People are angry about something that is real. It is my job, therefore, to think of a proper solution to this very real problem.
Although Ms Mahmood is seeking to emulate aspects of the Danish asylum system, she is not copying it in full.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
In Denmark, asylum seekers’ access to public housing is restricted in certain areas where there are more than 30% of ethnic minorities, low levels of education and low incomes.
The home secretary said she was not going to “dictate where people live based on percentages”.
Asked if this was one of the measures the UK government may adopt, the home secretary said: “That’s not the sort of country that we are.”
Alongside bringing in measures to mimic Denmark, Ms Mahmood said she would also announce plans to reform the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – aspects of which she said had been used to “frustrate the removal” of those with no right to be in the UK.
Read more:
Migrants shopping for life jackets: Inside the route to the Channel
Here’s how the Danish migration model works
She also said the government would create new, safe and legal routes – a key demand of charities.
She said such a move would send a “clear signal” to people to not get on a small boat.
But Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said Labour’s plans to reduce immigration were merely a “series of gimmicks”.
He said his party would like to see illegal immigrants denied asylum altogether and “deported within a week of arrival”.
He also reiterated the Conservatives’ call to leave the ECHR.
Challenged that the previous Conservative government didn’t even manage to deport one person to Rwanda under their scheme, which would have seen illegal immigrants processed abroad, Mr Philp replied: “And what stopped the Rwanda scheme? It was the ECHR.”
