Luton North MP Sarah Owen has challenged the government’s radical shake-up of the UK asylum system, warning ministers that firmness does not require cruelty.
Her criticism came after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood set out the most sweeping migration reforms in modern times, arguing they are needed to restore public confidence and bring down arrivals.
In the House of Commons yesterday, the Home Secretary argued that the asylum system had become destabilising for communities and unsustainable for the public purse. Refugee status will be made temporary, family reunion restricted, and those with income or assets will be required to contribute towards their accommodation costs.
At the heart of Ms Mahmood’s package are some of the toughest changes to the system in decades. Refugee status will become temporary, lasting two and a half years rather than five, and permanent settlement will only be possible after 20 years. Family reunion will be heavily restricted unless a refugee moves onto a new work and study visa route. The government will also scrap the duty to provide asylum support, allowing accommodation and payments to be withdrawn from those who break rules or engage in antisocial behaviour.
Further measures include requiring asylum seekers with significant income or assets to contribute towards their housing costs, restarting removals to countries where returns were paused, and removing families to Albania and elsewhere.
A new fast track appeals body will replace the current tribunal structure with only one claim and one appeal allowed. The government also plans to narrow article 8 rights around family life, pursue international reform of article 3 protections, impose visa penalties on countries that refuse to take back failed asylum seekers, and tighten the modern slavery system to prevent what it says is misuse of those protections.
The plans have already sparked unease among some Labour MPs, and Ms Owen focused her criticism on suggestions that asylum seekers’ belongings could be seized to cover accommodation costs.
She said: “I hope we can all agree that a strong immigration system does not have to be cruel. When the Tories painted over murals for refugee children, the number of small boat crossings still went up. When they threatened deportations to Rwanda, guess what? The number of crossings still went up.
“What evidence does the Secretary of State have that taking personal belongings, such as jewellery, from refugees and selling it off actually works as a deterrent? Would it not be a much better use of all our time to focus on the new plans for safe and legal routes that she has outlined?”
Mahmood rejected those claims outright and urged Owen not to repeat them, saying: “We are not taking jewellery at the border; I cannot say it any more clearly than that. As my hon. Friend knows from the example I used in my speech, the sort of cases we are going after are those in which people have assets and access to money and can afford quite expensive cars. Those people should make a contribution to the cost of what is currently free asylum support.”
She added: “We will not, and never will, seize people’s jewellery at the border; we are not going after their sentimental items, such as wedding rings. We are talking about those who have high value assets and, having claimed asylum in this country, but before they have been granted refugee status, receive free accommodation on the state. If those people have assets, they should contribute to the cost of that accommodation.”
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