18 November 2025: Guardian: Asylum changes seek to use children as a weapon, says Labour peer Alf Dubs
Dubs, who was a child refugee, says Shabana Mahmood’s ‘shabby’ plans will increase community tensions
The home secretary is seeking “to use children as a weapon” in her changes to the asylum system, a veteran Labour peer who came to Britain as a child refugee has said.
Alf Dubs, who arrived in the UK aged six in 1939 fleeing the persecution of Jews in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, described Shabana Mahmood’s proposals as “a shabby thing”.
Mahmood faced a backlash from Labour MPs and refugee charities on Monday as she set out plans for the biggest shake-up of asylum laws in 40 years.
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.
17 November 2025: Asylum Matters: New anti-refugee laws put asylum rights under more threat than ever
On Monday, the Home Secretary announced a radical overhaul of the UK’s refugee protection system. The Government itself has called these changes the most significant change to the asylum system since the Second World War: this is true. In fact, this new attack on asylum rights puts the very principles of humanitarian protection, established after the horrors the world witnessed during the Second World War, under threat.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Decades of limbo for refugees: People granted refugee status will have their right to stay in the country reviewed every 30 months. Not only will this create hugely expensive bureaucracy, it will leave people in terrifying limbo, which will make it harder to work, rent, study or integrate into their new communities. Refugees will have to wait 20 years for settled status – making it impossible for people to start rebuilding their lives.
- ‘Fast track deportations’ and restricted appeals: People seeking asylum will only be allowed one appeal, and will face deportation if that fails.
- ‘High value items’ removed from sanctuary seekers: The possessions sanctuary seekers manage to bring with them from home will be reviewed, and could be removed from people to contribute to costs of accommodation. People who’ve already lost homes, families and everything familiar could be stripped of what little they have – although the Home Office has now denied that ‘family heirlooms’ will be taken from people.
- Asylum support duty revoked: The statutory duty to provide asylum support including accommodation, to those who would otherwise face destitution, is set to be revoked, meaning it could be denied to people. The detail of why support could be denied hasn’t been revealed, but a wide range of circumstances have been mentioned, including: if people can work but don’t; if they work illegally; if people don’t comply with removal directions or if they commit crimes.
- Two-tier support system: Under these plans, while refugees would still have access to public funds, the Government has said it will consult on measures that could mean people have to meet additional requirements to receive and retain benefits – effectively making recognised refugees second-class citizens in the UK.
- Family reunion curbed: Making family reunion harder and more limited for most families, which will force more women and children to have to risk unsafe, irregular routes, or keep families apart for years.
- “Modest” new safe routes to be created: These will be based on community sponsorship, similar to the Homes For Ukraine Scheme. The numbers of people accepted through such a scheme would be capped.
- Vital human rights law under attack: Article 3 of the European convention on human rights, which protects people from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, will be reinterpreted. Legislation will also be brought forward to overhaul the Modern Slavery Act.
It’s very clear: these anti-refugee laws must be resisted. The Government is bowing to the hostility and hatred stirred by a minority of extremists.
The fight for asylum rights is now more urgent than ever.
17 November 2025: This is the Government’s Policy paper: Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy
Foreword from the Prime Minister: For any government, the UK’s values serve as the ultimate guide, our fixed point in a turning world. But when the world changes, it is our responsibility to renew the application of those values as new challenges arise. And the world has changed. It is more volatile and insecure, with increased conflict leading to a significant increase in the movement of people across the globe. Our asylum system was not designed to cope with this. Nor were our rules designed for the situation that sees asylum seekers travelling through multiple safe countries before seeking to cross the English Channel by boat.
Policy statement from the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood about what she plans and why: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-and-returns-policy-statement/restoring-order-and-control-a-statement-on-the-governments-asylum-and-returns-policy#foreword-from-the-home-secretary