Shabana Mahmood is said to be pressing ahead with the plans.
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Alamy
Plans to deport asylum seekers back to Syria are set to be ramped up as a Home Office “priority,” despite growing safety fears.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is reportedly pressing ahead with her proposals, which she is said to be treating as a priority.
It follows her announcement in November outlining Labour’s overhaul of immigration system, which included a shake-up of asylum rules.
But the efforts come after a Government minister raised concerns about violence between Syrian forces and Kurdish-led rebels in the country.
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According to the i Paper, Ms Mahmood is continuing with her plans, which are part of a package inspired by Denmark’s asylum system, despite UNHCR calling on countries not to forcibly return Syrians amid the fighting.
Labour has come under fire for failing to control the Channel crisis by reducing the number of asylum seekers entering the UK in small boats.
But earlier this week, Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer raised concerns about violence and the safety of returning Syrian nationals.
A view of small boats and outboard motors used by people thought to be migrants to cross the Channel from France.
Picture:
Alamy
The Refugee Council also argued for the Government to instead give Syrians temporary leave to remain in the UK until it was safe to return people, and therefore get people out of hotels without giving them settled status.
Oxford University’s Migration Observatory has suggested that thousands of Syrians could theoretically be sent back, with around 7,900 waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application.
Jon Featonby, chief policy analyst for Refugee Council, said challenges of returning people to Syria safely are expected to continue for “quite some time.”
Hamish Falconer, left, British minister for the Middle East and North Africa, has raised concerns over the moves.
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Alamy
Mr Featonby said: “A year on from the fall of the Assad regime, it is clear that there is still a lot of instability in Syria and that the situation changes from one day to the next.
“While some Syrians may feel able to return home voluntarily – and should be supported to do so – it’s vital that all decisions are taken on a case-by-case basis.
“Far from solving the asylum backlog, trying to remove people before Syria is safe will just shift the pressure to the appeals system.
“As of September 2025, that backlog had already doubled as over 90,000 people were stuck in limbo waiting to appeal their decision.”