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Shabana Mahmood is facing demands for compassion and clarity after it emerged that only a “few hundred” asylum seekers would initially be permitted to come to the UK under three new schemes for refugees.
The home secretary had justified a series of hardline policies – such as the deportation of families and the confiscation of assets from claimants – by saying she would work with the United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) to open “safe and legal” routes for “genuine” claimants.
But on Monday night, Mahmood said the new schemes would be “modest” at first, and she has so far declined to say when or how the numbers admitted to the UK would increase over time. UNHCR said it was still waiting for details of the new routes.
The demands come as Mahmood faces anger from more than two dozen Labour MPs over the government’s plans, which will result in families being forcibly removed from the UK if they refuse cash incentives to return to their own country.
Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, said people fleeing war, persecution and torture did not have the luxury of waiting months or years for “safe and legal” routes to be expanded.
Solomon said: “A route that helps only a few hundred people, with no clear plan for when it will increase, won’t stop dangerous journeys or create the orderly system the government wants to see, and would in effect be meaningless.
“The government must be clear about how many people will be helped each year and how quickly these routes will expand. When safe routes are properly resourced and designed to meet real levels of need, they can save lives and give families a genuine alternative to perilous journeys.”
Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, said the government must be scrutinised and come clean about its plans. “Safe and legal routes are the key to a functioning and fair asylum system,” she said.
On Saturday, Mahmood said the government would create new routes for refugees to come to the UK, including a beefed up “community sponsorship” scheme. This will build on the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which allows people to offer support or accommodation to those fleeing the war there.
There will also be a programme for “talented and skilled individuals displaced by conflict” to come and work in Britain. In addition, a study route will be created through which students facing war or persecution can continue their education in the UK.
“I want to stop people getting on boats,” she told the Observer. “We want to change the calculus that people are making and disincentivise illegal migration but also show that we have safe, legal routes that will incentivise people to come here under that route.”
According to a policy document published on Monday, the home secretary will publish an annual cap on the new routes and will prioritise individuals identified by UNHCR.
Questioned about the “safe and legal routes” by ITN’s Robert Peston, Mahmood said the numbers of people allowed into the UK under the new schemes would be “modest”.
“A few hundred to begin with, but they will grow over time,” she said.
Asked about the specifics of the new pathways, UNHCR said it was still waiting for details from the UK government and warned ministers not to treat refugees as though they were economic migrants.
Vicky Tennant, UNHCR’s UK representative, said: “UNHCR urges that they [refugees] be given a stable status that allows them to rebuild their lives and reunite with their families, while a long-term, durable solution is sought.
“Short-term stay arrangements and stringent limitations on refugee family reunion often create prolonged uncertainty and despair, undermining integration and social cohesion.”
The Home Office said it would consult on measures to allow the removal of financial support from families with children under the age of 18 if they had been refused asylum. Ministers argue that the current system incentivises asylum seekers to subject their children to dangerous crossings.
The Home Office policy document said: “Our hesitancy around returning families creates particularly perverse incentives. To some, the personal benefit of placing a child on a dangerous small boat outweighs the considerable risks of doing so.
“Once in the UK, asylum seekers are able to exploit the fact that they have had children and put down roots in order to thwart removal, even if their claim has been legally refused.”
In response, the Labour peer Alf Dubs, who was a child refugee welcomed to the UK while fleeing the Nazis, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There is a proper case for children, there is a proper case for family reunion when there are children who are on their own.”
He added: “To use children as a weapon, as the home secretary is doing, I think is a shabby thing.”
