Syrian asylum claims SUSPENDED amid fears unrest will spark fresh migration surge
SYRIANS seeking asylum in Britain will have their claims halted after the collapse of the Assad regime, the Home Secretary announced tonight.
Yvette Cooper said decisions on refuge applications from the country will be “temporarily paused” following the rebel rout.
It came as Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned the Middle East unrest could spark a rise in illegal migration.
Some 6,000 Syrians are currently awaiting UK asylum decisions – with many understood to be citing the risk of persecution by the ousted tyrant as a reason they cannot return.
The UK granted 99 per cent of the 3,026 Syrian asylum claims lodged in the year to June at initial decision.
But Ms Cooper said tonight: “We know that the situation in Syria is moving extremely fast after the fall of the Assad regime, we have seen some people returning to Syria.
“But we also have a very fast moving situation that we need to closely monitor, and that is why, like Germany, like France and like other countries, we have paused asylum decisions on cases from Syria while the home office reviews and monitors the current situation.”
Yesterday the Foreign Sec branded Assad is the “rat of Damascus” who fled to Moscow “with his tail between his legs”.
David Lammy said the routed dictator and his British-born wife were banned from the UK, adding: “We said no because Assad is a butcher with the blood of countless innocents on his hands.”
But he warned the instability in Syria could “potentially increase the numbers using dangerous illegal migration routes to continental Europe and the UK.”
It came as Sir Keir Starmer was forced to slap down his closest ally after Cabinet Office boss Pat McFadden said a decision to un-proscribe the terror group HTS would be “relatively swift” so the UK can engage with Islamist group now in charge of Syria.
But the PM, speaking in Saudi Arabia, rejected that saying: “No decision is pending at all on this, it is far too early.”
Germany and Austria earlier announced they were halting asylum claims from Syria.
It sparked calls for the UK to “follow suit” now that many can no longer claim persecution from Bashar Al Assad’s reign of terror.
The upheaval in Syria also throws into question whether rejected asylum seekers can be returned.
Ahead of the decision, Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp applied pressure, saying: “Germany and Austria are halting all processing of Syrian asylum applications because Assad is now gone.
“The UK should immediately do the same. If Syria becomes safe, those Syrians seeking (or granted) asylum will be able to return.”
Germany has already accepted around one million Syrians since the civil war erupted in 2011.
Its decision to pause asylum processing is thought to affect around 46,000 currently going through the system.
Mr Lammy said that while the toppling of Assad will lead to many Syrians returning to their homeland, many could also flee.
He told MPs it could lead to a fresh illegal migration surge into Europe and the UK.
Britain is also set to remove the Syrian rebel group from the banned list or terror organisations following their coup.
Cabinet Minister Pat McFadden will consider de-proscribing Islamist faction Hayat Tahir al-Sham so communications channels can be opened.
He said it would be a “swift decision”, however the Home Office is understood to want to carry out a rigorous assessment before giving the go-ahead.
The Labour frontbencher also said there has not been a formal request for Assad’s wife Asma – a British Syrian – to return to the UK.
He said: “The family are in Russia as far as we know, that’s what Russian state media have said.
“We’ve certainly had no contact or no request for Mr Assad’s wife to come to the UK.”