Asylum system 'could fall apart if illegal migration not tackled'

CONSENT for helping asylum seekers restart their lives in the UK will fall apart if the UK Government does not do more to tackle illegal migration, Shabana Mahmood has said.

- DAVID LYNCH and HELEN WILLIAM

A man struggles in deep water as he carries a young child on his shoulders to try to board a migrant dinghy to the English Channel in Gravelines, France, earlier this year

(CARL COURT)

The Home Secretary also insisted she saw her attempts to overhaul the asylum system as part of a “moral mission” aimed at preventing division in the country.

Ms Mahmood will set out reforms to the UK’s asylum system, how it decides to grant sanctuary to those fleeing conflict and hardship abroad, in the House of Commons today.

Billed as the largest overhaul of its kind in modern times, the package is aimed at making Britain a less attractive destination for illegal migrants and making it easier to remove them from the UK.

Refugee status will be made temporary and subject to regular review under the proposals, so that people are returned to their homeland once it becomes safe.

At the same time, safe and legal routes to the UK will be introduced as a way to cut dangerous journeys in small boats across the English Channel.

Speaking yesterday, Ms Mahmood warned illegal migration is causing “huge divides” in Britain.

She told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips the plans she will set out today are the “most sweeping set of reforms in modern times”