Watch live as Sir Keir Starmer faces PMQs today (12 February) as Labour faces an outcry over its decision to deny UK citizenship to small boat refugees. The Home Office has toughened up existing guidance to make it nearly impossible for refugees to become British citizens if they travel to the UK by small boat. The move has sparked outcry from Labour MP Stella Creasy and refugee charities, who urged the government to reconsider.
On Monday, the department updated guidance for staff assessing refugees so it now says applicants who have “made a dangerous journey will normally be refused citizenship”. Under the previous guidance, refugees who arrived in the UK by irregular routes would be required to wait ten years before being considered for citizenship. Ms Creasy posted to X: “This should be changed asap. If we give someone refugee status, it can’t be right to then refuse them [a] route to become a British citizen.”.
