Britain will drastically reduce protections for refugees under plans to overhaul its asylum system, the Labour government said on Saturday.
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The measures were announced as Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces mounting pressure over irregular migration in the face of soaring support for the hard right.
“I’ll end UK’s golden ticket for asylum seekers,” interior minister Shabana Mahmood declared in a statement.
Presently, those given refugee status have it for five years, after which they can apply for indefinite leave to remain and eventually citizenship.
But Mahmood’s ministry, known as the Home Office, said it would cut the length of refugee status to 30 months.
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That protection will be “regularly reviewed” and refugees will be forced to return to their home countries once they are deemed safe, it added.