Asylum reforms will tackle ‘significant pull factor’ to illegal migration: UK PM Keir Starmer

London: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK’s current asylum regime is a “significant pull factor” to illegal immigration, which will be tackled by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s reforms tabled in Parliament on Monday.

In a detailed policy document released ahead of Mahmood’s House of Commons statement, Starmer makes the case for wide-ranging changes, including an extended period of 20 years for refugees to gain settlement status and countries facing visa penalties for not taking back their nationals who enter Britain through illegal routes.

“The UK’s current asylum regime is a significant pull factor to that (people smuggling) trade... which then also creates a strong and perverse incentive for migrants who have arrived legally to switch into the asylum system once here,” Starmer notes in his foreword.

“The case for reform is then devastatingly simple. That if we want to see fewer [English] Channel crossings, less exploitation and a fairer system with safe and legal routes, we need an approach with a stronger deterrent effect and rules that are robustly enforced,” he states.

Mahmood went on to be grilled by members of Parliament as she tabled the much-anticipated asylum reforms statement, which had been heavily trailed over the weekend indicating that the UK will be following the stringent Denmark model.

“These are significant reforms. They are designed to ensure that our asylum system is fit for the modern world,” said Mahmood.

“Reducing the number of arrivals is just half the story. We must also remove those who have no right to be here. In recent months we have begun voluntary removals of failed asylum seekers to Syria,” she said.

Mahmood announced Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Namibia as the first set of countries to face penalties if they do not comply with the return of illegal immigrants from the UK, with other countries to be added on to the penalty list.

The South Asian heritage minister made some fiery interventions when Opposition MPs questioned the “immoderate language” being used with reference to immigration.

“I am the one who is regularly called a f***king P*ki and told to go back home. I know through my own experience and the experience of my constituents just how divisive asylum has become in our country,” Mahmood responded, later made to apologise for the phrase used as an indirect reference.

Official statistics released by the UK Home Office claim that since 2021, over 400,000 people have claimed asylum in the UK and while arrivals have grown rapidly, the removal of illegal migrants has not kept pace.

“The impact on this country has been profound. Over 100,000 people now live in asylum accommodation, funded by the taxpayer,” said Mahmood.

The UK’s new asylum model, “just like in Denmark”, will mean refugee status will become temporary – lasting only until a refugee can safely return home and those with assets are forced to contribute to their lodgings.

“Genuine refugees will receive the protection they need. With control restored, we will open up new, capped routes for refugees for whom this country will be the first, safe haven they encounter,” added Mahmood.