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A Labor Colleague who fled the Nazis as a child refugee has accused the Home Secretary Shabana Mehmood Using “children as a weapon” as part of its plan to make Britain less attractive to asylum seekers.
less than 24 hours later Labor MP The proposals were described as “demonstrably cruel” and “immoral”, with Lord Alf Dubs describing the government’s proposals as “shabby”.
Under the sweeping measures introduced on Monday, the Home Secretary said Britain could deport families, including those with children, if they refuse monetary incentives to leave. The Home Office has also claimed that children are being sent to the UK on small boats so that their families can “abuse” the laws by putting down roots, thereby hindering removals.
Asked about the suggestion, Lord Dubs told BBC Radio 4 Today Program: “I think it’s a theoretical statement – I don’t accept it.”
He added: “I think there’s a fair case for children, there’s a fair case for family reunification – when there are children who are on their own and who have family in this country, I think the right thing to do is to have family reunification and bring the children here.
“But to use children as a weapon, as the Home Secretary is doing, I think it’s a poor thing – frankly, I’m at a loss for words, because my concern was that if we turn away people coming here, what if they’ve had children in the meantime?
“What should we do with the children who were born here, who went to school here, who are part of our community, our society? We can’t just say, ‘Oh OK, you go away because your parents don’t claim to be here.'”
lord dubs He was one of a group of Jewish children rescued from the Nazis in the 1930s who came to Britain for a new life and championed the protection of unaccompanied minors caught up in the migration crisis.
She also hit out at the government’s “draconian approach”, with Ms Mahmood saying it was an “inconvenient truth” that Britain’s generous asylum offer compared to other European countries was attracting people to the UK.
“We need a little compassion in our politics and I think some of the measures are going in the wrong direction, they won’t help,” he said.
Ms Mahmood announced a major overhaul of the system, including cutting the period for which asylum seekers are initially allowed to reside in Britain from five years to 30 months and increasing the time required for settled status from five years to 20.
Other changes include placing limits on the number of people coming to the UK via so-called safe routes. Under the plans, those living within the system will not be guaranteed housing and weekly allowances, while asylum seekers with property will be forced to contribute to their costs.
The Home Secretary told the Commons that “the pace and scale of change has destabilized communities” and made the UK “a more divided place”, but the reforms drew condemnation from charities and some backbench MPs.
Former Labor frontbencher Richard Burgon also said the reform was “a desperate attempt to create a triangle with reform”, while MP Ian Lavery said that while the Tories and Reform were supporting the policies “isn’t it time to question whether we are really in the right place?”
The plans were also criticized by Emily Spurrell, chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, who said the changes “should not come at the expense of compassion”.
But Communities Secretary Steve Reed insisted the reforms were necessary to end the human tragedies caused by trafficking as he defended the move to deport families when they refused to return to their home countries.
“We know we need more safe and legal routes so that families who have the right to come here and seek asylum can come to the country, but we cannot continue to create incentives that result in children drowning in the Channel,” he said.
Responding to accusations from some in his party that the government was repeating Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, Mr Reid said, “You will always have different views” but “the majority of Labor Party members and Labor MPs know that we need to tackle this problem because it is damaging our country and social cohesion”.
Meanwhile, reform leader Mr Faraz praised the measures as “extremely encouraging”, while questioning whether they would be implemented.
He told a London press conference: “Rhetorically speaking, it’s fine, we’re following through on a lot of the things we’ve been saying for a few years. But in practice, I doubt that will actually happen.”
Responding to Ms Mahmood’s invitation that she might defect to reform, Mr Farage said: “It seems she likes to use bad language, doesn’t she?
He dodged a question on whether he supported Labour’s proposal to deport the children of unsuccessful asylum seekers, saying only: “The absolute priority to deport those who come (illegally) are young undocumented men of fighting age, many of whom will do great harm in this country.”
Dr Mihnia Kuibus of the Migration Observatory said Ms Mahmood’s proposals, which are based on Denmark, would help make Britain less attractive to migrants.
He added: “This is certainly the most significant change we have ever seen in the asylum system.
“There is no doubt that the changes will reduce the attractiveness of the UK. We know from research that it is important for migrants to have permanent residence status and to be able to bring their families.
“It’s impossible to know what impact this will have. We know that in Denmark their figures are at their lowest in a decade after these changes. But in the UK there are still other factors at play, such as language.”