𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Last week, the government announced the opening of new safe routes for refugees from the autumn. The plans also include changes to human rights laws aimed to make it easier to deport people in the country illegally. The scheme will see communities and some “trusted” universities sponsor refugees to come to the UK, and has been inspired by a Canadian scheme that has settled 400,000 people in the country since 1979. A separate route allowing employers to sponsor refugees is also expected to open next year.

The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said: “I will open new legal routes for genuine refugees, while closing loopholes that have been too often abused. My goal is simple: to ensure we have an asylum system not just today, but for generations to come.” She added: “Britain has always offered sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution. But this system only survives if the public trusts that it is fair, controlled, and not open to abuse.”

But there has been a backlash to the plans.

Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, said: “Has Shabana Mahmood lost her mind? Next week, she is set to announce a ‘Homes for Ukraine’ style migrant scheme for conflicts all around the world. For context, that scheme took in over 200,000 Ukrainians.

He added: “Labour say they’ll cap the numbers of the scheme to the tens of thousands. But, over time, they’ll all bring in their extended families. The ‘chain migration’ will be catastrophic.

“It’s all modelled on a Canadian scheme that’s let 400,000 migrants in, and nearly 100,000 in the last five years alone. In fact, the Canadian Government have paused their scheme because it’s so unpopular.

“Labour have no mandate whatsoever for this. If Burnham wants one, he must call a general election.

“The British people have made it abundantly clear: we don’t want anymore migration like this. When it comes to so called ‘asylum seekers’ from nations very different to our own, we are long past full.”

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Ms Mahmood also said a new Immigration and Asylum Bill will seek to prevent “abuse” of human rights laws, including the right to a family life and modern slavery protections.

It will tighten the definition of “family” for the purposes of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), restricting it to immediate family members only.

The Home Office said the new definition would prevent situations such as one that prevented the deportation of a convicted domestic abuser from Poland because he acted as a “father figure” to his nephew.

The new legislation will also remove modern slavery protections from foreign offenders who have been jailed and reject claims made when deportation action has already commenced if there was an opportunity to make a claim earlier, officials say.