Tory MPs call on Home Office to commit to resettling specific number of refugees after target scrapped

Ex-immigration minister Caroline Nokes among Conservative MPs demanding Priti Patel put numerical commitment on resettlement and calling for ‘unity rather than hostility’ in immigration debate

Cross -party MPs have called for ‘unity rather than hostility’ in the debate around immigration after Priti Patel’s Nationality and Borders Bill was laid in Parliament last week (Leon Neal/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Tory MPs have called on the Home Office to commit to welcoming a specific number of refugees under its resettlement programme in line with international norms after it scrapped a previously pledged target.

Former immigration minister Caroline Nokes and Tory MP David Simmonds are among politicians who have signed a statement urging for “unity rather than hostility” in the public debate around immigration after the Nationality and Borders Bill was laid in Parliament last week.

In a statement published on Wednesday, they expressed concern about the fact that, as part of its new immigration plans, the Home Office has dropped a target to resettle 5,000 refugees in the first year of its new “global resettlement scheme”.

Announcing the plans in March, home secretary Priti Patel said the department would “maintain its long-term commitment to resettle refugees from around the globe” – but without a specific number and no given timeframe.

The statement, also signed by Tim Farron, Neil Coyle and Rt Rev Paul Butler, states: “Together, we will continue to call for the creation of safe routes for refugees to travel to the UK for protection.

“In order for safe routes to have the desired effect of preventing people from making dangerous journeys, it is necessary to have sufficient ambition about the overall number of people able to access the routes provided.”

It adds: “The existing safe routes should be maintained and not reduced.”

The UNHCR, which works with countries across the globe to facilitate refugee resettlement, has also raised alarm about the absence of a numerical commitment, warning that it would complicate the process.

The organisation told The Independent last month: “Having clarity on the numbers of refugees that are arriving via resettlement now and in future years is important for managing the programme – for UNHCR as well as local authorities and partners, who need clarity to be able to retain skilled staff. It also helps manage refugees’ expectations.

It comes amid widespread concern about the Home Office’s planned asylum overhaul, which would see refugees who arrive in the UK via unauthorised means – more than six in 10 of those who have arrived in recent years – denied permanent protection.

The Nationality and Borders Bill, laid in parliament last Tuesday, would enable immigration officers to intercept vessels in British waters and take them to foreign ports – a controversial practice known as pushback.

It would also allow the Home Office to send asylum seekers overseas while their claims are processed, in a similar way to the offshore polices introduced in Australia in 2013. Rwanda, Ascension Island and Gibraltar have been mooted as potential offshore locations.

The UN warned last week that the UK’s plans took an “almost neo-colonial approach” and was designed to shift the responsibility for protecting refugees away from Britain.

Gillian Triggs, the assistant high commissioner for protection at the UNHCR, said during a Chatham House briefing last Thursday that the UK appeared to be trying to “wash its hands” of its international responsibilities.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “No one should be in any doubt of our commitment to build upon our proud history of resettling refugees in need of protection. We have a strong track record and since 2015 we have resettled more than 25,000 vulnerable refugees, around half of whom are children.

“Through our New Plan for Immigration we will strengthen safe and legal routes to the UK for refugees from regions of conflict and instability, and discourage dangerous journeys. This is not about numbers - those we resettle will be supported to integrate into their communities, and we will provide them with support with a focus on the English Language and employment, to help them rebuild their lives in the UK.”