Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has denied that her plans to clamp down on illegal immigration are “racist” – instead describing them as a “moral mission”.

Shabana Mahmood said illegal immigration was causing “huge divides” in the UK, and added: “I do believe we need to act if we are to retain public consent for having an asylum system at all.”

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Speaking on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Ms Mahmood said the government would set out changes to the asylum system in a bid to reduce the “pull factor” for those arriving in the UK via small boat.

The home secretary has been looking to Denmark for inspiration, where there are tighter rules on family reunions and restrictions on how long refugees can stay.

Measures that are expected to be announced on Monday include changing the rules so that people who are granted asylum in the UK will only be allowed to stay temporarily, and will have their refugee status subject to regular review.

The statutory legal duty to provide asylum seeker support, including housing and weekly allowances, is expected to be revoked.

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Ms Mahmood said such changes were needed to fix the “broken” asylum system.

‘Moral mission’

But asked how she would respond to those who believe the government has been “panicked into a racist immigration policy”, Ms Mahmood said: “I reject that entirely.”

“I am the child of immigrants,” she said. “My parents came to this country legally, in the late 60s and early 70s. This is a moral mission for me.”

Ms Mahmood said she had observed how illegal migration had been “creating division across our country”.

“I can see that it is polarising communities across the country. I can see that it is dividing people and making them estranged from one another. I don’t want to stand back and watch that happen in my country.”

What measures is the home secretary set to announce?

  • Refugee status will become temporary and subject to regular review – with people facing removal as soon as their home countries are deemed safe
  • New safe and legal routes to be introduced for those genuinely fleeing war and persecution
  • Changes to the legal framework that will require judges to prioritise public safety over migrants’ rights to a family life – amid fears that Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights has been used to frustrate removals
  • Using facial age estimation technology, a form of AI ,to rapidly assess a person’s age in a bid to deter people who pretend to be children in an attempt to claim asylum
  • Capped work and study routes for refugees will also be created  

Under current UK rules, people who are granted refugee status have it for five years and can then apply for indefinite leave to remain and get on a route to citizenship.

The government has already announced it will change the rules around indefinite leave to remain with a new set of requirements, including how much someone contributes to the UK and higher English language requirements.

The move to impose tighter restrictions have been interpreted as a way for Labour to counter the threat posed by Nigel Farage and Reform UK, which has laid out plans to deport people who already have ILR – which gives people the right to settle, work and study in the UK and even claim benefits, even if they do not then apply to be British citizens.

Ms Mahmood said that highlighting issues in the system did not amount to making “right-wing talking points or fake news” and that the government had a “genuine problem to fix”.

Although Ms Mahmood is seeking to emulate aspects of the Danish asylum system, she is not copying it in full.

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In Denmark, asylum seekers’ access to public housing is restricted in certain areas where there are more than 30% of ethnic minorities, low levels of education and low incomes.

The home secretary said she was not going to “dictate where people live based on percentages”.

Asked if this was one of the measures the UK government may adopt, the home secretary said: “That’s not the sort of country that we are.”

Alongside bringing in measures to mimic Denmark, Ms Mahmood said she would also announce plans to reform the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – aspects of which she said had been used to “frustrate the removal” of those with no right to be in the UK.

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Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said Labour’s plans to reduce immigration were merely a “series of gimmicks” while Zia Yusuf, Reform’s head of policy, claimed Ms Mahmood would be blocked from bringing in her plans by her own MPs.

Meanwhile, the SNP have branded the government’s reforms to asylum policy “outrageous”, and have accused Labour of “dancing to Nigel Farage’s tune on immigration”.

The party’s concerns were echoed by the Greens, whose deputy leader Mothin Ali said the furore over the number of people arriving in the UK on small boats was a “very manufactured problem”.

He told Sky News: “To me, it feels like a very manufactured problem. It’s a problem that’s been created to create outrage.”

Max Wilkinson, the Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesperson, told Sky News it was “right” that the government was aiming to tackle illegal migration, but said some of the language used had been a “bit uncomfortable”.