Shabana Mahmood is facing demands for compassion and clarity after it emerged that only a “few hundred” asylum seekers would initially be permitted to come to the UK under three new schemes for refugees.
The home secretary had justified a series of hardline policies – such as the deportation of families and the confiscation of assets from claimants – by saying she would work with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to open “safe and legal” routes for “genuine” claimants.
