STORY
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has set out plans for new legal routes for eligible refugees, with community groups, universities and employers able to sponsor people coming to the UK.
The proposals are expected to form part of the Government’s wider Immigration and Asylum Bill. Ministers have presented the scheme as a way to create controlled routes for genuine refugees while tightening rules around asylum appeals, modern slavery claims and the use of legal challenges to delay removals.
The announcement has drawn criticism from opposition politicians who argue that it could increase migration numbers. Mahmood said the aim was to combine compassion with firmer control of the asylum system, while replacing ad hoc schemes with a more structured sponsorship model.