(Adnkronos) – The British Home Office today informed 150 immigrant families whose asylum applications have been denied that they can receive lump sums of 10,000 pounds per person, up to a maximum of four people per household, if they agree to leave the country voluntarily. The pilot program launched by the Home Office – which could be extended to thousands of other families whose asylum applications have been unsuccessful – has been criticized by those who warn of the risk of encouraging more illegal migrants to come to Great Britain, attracted by the prospect of payment, the Daily Mail writes today, reporting criticism directed at Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, accused of ‘insulting the British taxpayer’ and noting that the new Labour program is significantly more generous than existing cash incentives, which are currently limited to 3,000 pounds per person.
Mahmood approved the incentives in an attempt to save on the sums currently invested in housing families in migrant hotels and other types of accommodation at taxpayers’ expense. The program will only apply to people whose countries of origin are considered safe, an element that has strengthened criticism from the program’s detractors, who question why those who can safely return to their own country should receive large sums of taxpayer money to leave Great Britain.
“This is an insult to the British taxpayer,” declared Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, quoted by the Daily Mail. “Shabana Mahmood has to resort to paying illegal immigrants because she has completely failed to remove them by force – only six percent of small boat arrivals have been removed under this Labour government. If we leave the European Convention on Human Rights, we can deport all irregular immigrants without having to pay them. But Shabana Mahmood is too weak to do so.”
The Home Office plans to use force to remove families with failed asylum claims if they refuse the offer and has initiated a consultation with police experts and welfare workers to determine how to proceed if minors are involved. Mahmood, in a speech today at the IPPR think-tank in central London, stated that the increase in incentives could lead to “significant savings” for public funds. “When a voluntary removal is refused, we will move to forced removal for those who can be returned to a safe country of origin,” she said.
