Sex offenders to be denied asylum rights in new law

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the move would ensure sexual offences are taken seriously

Asylum seekers will be denied the right to stay in the UK if they have been convicted of sexual offences, the government has announced.

Terrorists, war criminals and any other criminals whose offences carry a sentence of one year or more can already be refused asylum under the Refugee Convention.

Under the changes, this will be extended to anyone convicted in the UK of a crime which places them on the sex offenders register, regardless of the length of their sentence.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said this would "ensure these appalling crimes are taken seriously" but the Conservatives said the measures were "too little, too late".

The changes will be introduced through an amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament.

It is not clear how many cases the change could affect.

However, a Home Office source said ministers would be hoping to tackle instances like that of Abdul Ezedi, who was granted asylum despite being a convicted sex offender.

Ezedi killed himself within hours after he was suspected of dousing his ex-girlfriend with a corrosive liquid when he attacked her and her children in south London in January last year.

He was already on the sex offenders register, after pleading guilty to charges of sexual assault and exposure in 2018, when he was granted asylum in 2020 following two failed attempts.

The amendment will also set a 24-week target for appeal decisions on whether asylum seekers who are foreign offenders or are in government-funded accommodation have the right to remain in the UK or not, in a bid to cut the asylum backlog.

The home secretary said: "Sex offenders who pose a risk to the community should not be allowed to benefit from refugee protections in the UK.

"Nor should asylum seekers be stuck in hotels at the taxpayers' expense during lengthy legal battles.

"That is why we are changing the law to help clear the backlog, end the use of asylum hotels and save billions of pounds for the taxpayer."

The Home Office said that harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) for processing asylum claims could also save up to an hour per case by summarising interview transcripts and accessing country advice.

A range of measures to reform the asylum system are being introduced, including new powers for the Immigration Advice Authority to issue fines of up to £15,000 for anyone involved in advising fraudulent claims or posing as an immigration lawyer who is not registered.

There will also be restrictions on foreign offenders living in the community, including mandatory electronic tags, strict night-time curfews and enforced exclusion zones.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, welcomed efforts to resolve asylum cases quickly, but warned the use of AI could "backfire" if it produced flawed decisions that end up in the courts.

The Law Society of England and Wales also raised concerns that the target for appeal decisions would be "unworkable" in practice as the justice system is already struggling to cope with current demand.

Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said the action would complement the government's pledge to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

But Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the legislation was "too little, too late" and highlighted how a record 10,000 people had crossed the Channel this year already.

"Foreign criminals pose a danger to British citizens and must be removed, but so often this is frustrated by spurious legal claims based on human rights claims, not asylum claims," he said.

"The Conservatives had already tabled tough, clear reforms to remove all foreign criminals and to disapply the Human Rights Act so activists and lawyers cannot block deportations.

"But Labour voted against our measures - they are not serious about controlling our borders."

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