Two people have been arrested in connection to investigations into immigrant advisors aiding asylum seekers in pretending to be gay to remain in the country. This comes after a BBC undercover investigation in which secret filming revealed a group of migrants feigning their sexuality.
At an LGBT asylum seekers event, several attendees told an undercover reporter that they were not actually gay. Following this, The Home Office coordinated an investigation. Raids were conducted in East London by the Criminal and Financial Investigations section of the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement team.
Two were arrested including a woman in her late 40s was arrested on suspicion of providing an immigration service contrary to section 91 of the Immigration and Asylum Act. A man in his early 20s was arrested on suspicion of fraud, a Home Office source said.
But Conservative Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp, said in response: “A handful of arrests changes nothing while the underlying incentive remains intact.
“The Conservatives would end it at source by banning asylum claims from illegal arrivals, leaving the ECHR [European Convention on Human Rights] and removing illegal arrivals within a week.”
Immigration Minister Mike Tapp was present at the raids. He warned that this illegal advice being given is damaging to truthful asylum seekers.
“If lawyers, or so-called lawyers, and legal advisers are out there providing this dodgy advice, we’re coming after that. And as you’ve seen today, we’ll make those arrests,” he said.
Reform UK’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf criticised Labour for their lack of action.
He said: “Labour can claim no credit for clamping down on lawyers aiding false asylum claims when they failed to act themselves.
“Millions have entered this country illegally, and must be deported.”
Liberal Democrat spokesperson for immigration and asylum Will Forster said that a controlled system is the solution: “We need an asylum system that is fair, controlled and efficient.
“Britain will proudly do its part in helping those genuinely fleeing persecution, but we will not tolerate abuse of the system.”
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has previously criticised the Government for its “inconsistent policies” in creating “perverse incentives for these kind of unscrupulous business and industries to pop up”.