Speaking in the House of Commons, Mahmood said: "If we fail to deal with this crisis, we will draw more people down a path that starts with anger and ends in hatred." The reforms will make refugee status temporary, extend the wait for permanent settlement from five years to 20, and allow the removal of families with children who have no right to remain.
My son says I miss you, when am I seeing you?' Sometimes I lie to give him false hope. There's a growing detachment there, because he knows I have lied to him. Kim is an asylum seeker based in Yorkshire, England. The 35-year-old, who has asked to use only a pseudonym out of fears for her safety, is among those in the UK who do not know when or if they will be able to see their children again, as the Labour government cracks down on the asylum system.
Sir Keir Starmer and his home secretary are facing an angry backlash over their plans to toughen up Britain's asylum system, with Labour MPs describing the new rules as repugnant and performatively cruel. Shabana Mahmood unveiled a raft of hardline measures on Monday aimed at discouraging asylum seekers and making it easier to remove those who have no right to remain in the country.
Under the new plans, which are modelled on Denmark's strict asylum system, refugee status for asylum-seekers arriving in the UK will be cut from five years to 30 months, while those granted asylum will have to wait 20 years to apply for permanent residency rather than the current five years. Those protections will be "regularly reviewed" and refugees will be encouraged to return to their home countries, once they are deemed safe.
