Migrant plans mimic Trump, say Labour MPs

Shabana Mahmood has put herself on a collision course with Labour MPs after announcing a set of changes to the immigration system that one backbencher said mimicked Donald Trump and another claimed would inevitably lead to a Windrush-style scandal.

- Kiran Stacey Diane Taylor

The home secretary announced her plans yesterday, including an end to permanent refugee status and the removal of government support from asylum seekers who are deemed not to need it or who break the law.

She also launched a pilot project to pay 150 families whose asylum claims had been rejected up to £40,000 each to voluntarily leave the country or face forcible removal. The families have been contacted and have seven days to decide whether to accept or refuse the offer.

In a speech in central London, Mahmood said: "The generosity of the British people will become conditional on those seeking asylum following the law, living by our rules and not working illegally.

"Taxpayer-funded accommodation will be reserved for those who have no right to work and will otherwise be destitute, such as for any British citizen. Rights must come with responsibilities, and British taxpayers cannot be expected to fund the lives of those who refuse."

She said the proposals were needed to restore control at the borders and combat the rising appeal of hard-right parties such as Reform UK. "If we don't resolve these problems, others with none of our values will be given the chance to do so instead," she said.

But they risk a damaging fight with her own party, which is already in fractious mood after last week's loss to the Green party at the Gorton and Denton byelection.

With the prime minister's position already in peril, many Labour MPs believe he can ill afford another legislative fight with his parliamentary colleagues.