Asylum seekers convicted of sexual offences will be barred from refugee status in the UK under new government rules, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced on Tuesday.
“Sex offenders who pose a risk to the community should not be allowed to benefit from refugee protections in the UK,” Cooper said.
But conservatives suspect the announcement is timed to sway voters in this week’s local elections, in particular the insurgent Nigel Farage and his party, Reform UK.
The change, introduced as an amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, will also crack down on individuals posing as immigration lawyers or advisers who coach migrants on making false asylum claims.
The Refugee Convention allows for denying asylum to terrorists, war criminals, and anyone convicted of “particularly serious crimes”—usually crimes that carry a custodial sentence of more than a year. Some sexual offenses will now be classified as “particularly serious crimes,” the Home Office said:
For the first time, any conviction of a crime that qualifies a foreign national for the sex offenders register will lead to them being denied refugee status, toughening our approach to border security through stricter enforcement of the rules.
Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp was less than impressed with the Labour government’s latest attempt at limiting the negative impact of mass migration. He called the announcement “a performative sham” and said “When we tabled an amendment to stop foreign criminals & those with no right to be here using human rights claims in UK law—Labour voted against it.”
This is deeply dishonest by Starmer
Foreign criminals will just use ECHR Article 3 instead
When we tabled an amendment to stop foreign criminals & those with no right to be here using human rights claims in UK law – Labour voted against it
Starmer wont fix this https://t.co/XfeUpjsdiV
— Chris Philp MP (@CPhilpOfficial) April 29, 2025
