Mahmood’s new rules will leave refugees in cruel state of uncertainty

‘Despite Shabana Mahmood’s claims to the contrary, the Home Office has neither the ability nor the resources to implement this policy in a workable way.’ Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

The Law Society, according to your report (Mahmood’s move to make asylum temporary ‘may undermine refugee convention’, 2 March), believes the home secretary’s changes to “refugee status” might not comply with the UK’s legal obligations. That is important, but our wider concern should be with our moral and humanitarian obligations.

The UN’s refugee convention was drawn up to give those driven from their homes by persecution not just sanctuary, but an opportunity to build new lives. It requires a response that is compassionate as well as legal, but the new rules will leave refugees in a cruel state of uncertainty.