Britain’s asylum system is being preyed upon by a growing number of “bogus gay asylum seekers” attempting to stay in the country by falsely claiming to be homosexual, the Home Office has been warned. Veteran LGBT rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has issued a stark warning, saying his charity, the Peter Tatchell Foundation, is being contacted by as many as 30 individuals a day – mostly from Pakistan – who appear to be fabricating evidence of their sexuality in a bid to bolster their claims for asylum.
He said the pattern has become impossible to ignore, with scores of small donations – usually under £3 – flooding into the charity’s accounts each day. The individuals responsible often follow up these donations by requesting membership cards or written confirmation of their supposed sexuality, in the hope that these can be used to persuade the Home Office of their case. In a letter sent to Home Office immigration chief Joanna Rowland in January, Mr Tatchell wrote: “It has come to our attention that some asylum applications from South Asia have referenced the Peter Tatchell Foundation in support of their claims to secure asylum.
“For the past 18 months, we have noticed almost daily donations of less than £3, sometimes as many as 30 in a single day. It is apparent many of these donors are likely asylum applicants.
“We have also received emails from some of these ‘donors’ requesting membership cards or letters for their asylum applications.”
Mr Tatchell told the Daily Mail that none of the people his foundation has officially assisted have been exposed as fraudulent and that the majority of LGBT asylum seekers the organisation has supported have integrated well and contributed to the UK economy.
He said: “The people we help have gone on to become model members of the community, contributing to the UK economy. Any suspicious requests for help are promptly investigated and blocked.”
However, he warned that the sharp rise in what he described as “dubious” approaches risked undermining legitimate cases.
He added: “These waves of 15–30 small donations raised our concerns. They correspond to people who soon afterwards request membership cards and letters of support for asylum claims.”.
A Home Office spokesman said: “We take all claims of abuse of the immigration system extremely seriously, and where found, we will robustly challenge it.”
In Pakistan, where many of the alleged false claims originate, homosexual activity between men is illegal and carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Campaigners fear some asylum applicants may be exploiting this fact to gain protection under UK law, damaging public trust in the asylum process and putting genuine LGBT refugees at risk of being doubted.
