Asylum 'no game show', says minister

'Tough steps' have been taken to tackle asylum abuse

The Home Office has issued a strongly-worded attack on a series of BBC television programmes which are to be broadcast on Wednesday as part of its "asylum day".

Immigration Minister, Beverley Hughes, says she has "serious concerns" about some of the shows, which include a debate in which the public assess the merits of real asylum cases.

The programme, You The Judge, will highlight cases of people who have sought asylum in the UK.

Making decisions on asylum claims is not a game show Beverley Hughes

The BBC says viewers will be able to vote on whether asylum should be granted and compare the results to what really happened.

But Ms Hughes said the programme "trivialised" the real consequences of "life and death" decisions.

'Complex issues'

She said immigration case-workers spent considerable time on each case and criticised the BBC for asking the public to make such decisions in a few minutes.

Determining asylum claims, said Ms Hughes, was "not a game show".

We have brought in a radical package of reforms which are significantly improving the asylum system Beverley Hughes

"Asylum raises many complex and emotive issues and we always welcome debate on them - it is important, however, that the debate is rational and measured," she said.

"The BBC has often covered these issues in considered manner, but we have some serious concerns about some of the content of the BBC's 'asylum day'."

Ms Hughes complained that advance reports of a Panorama programme that is part of the asylum day suggest "that some of the content is inaccurate and misleading".

Border controls

"One journalist has claimed that our fingerprint database failed to identify that she had made a previous asylum claim. This is wholly untrue - the fingerprint match was made," said Ms Hughes.

"Another Panorama journalist has claimed that the asylum system is a 'chaotic shambles'. This is nonsense.

"We have brought in a radical package of reforms which are significantly improving the asylum system.

"We have: moved our border controls to France; overhauled the system to reduce intake in a way which is delivering significant falls; and closed Sangatte."

Ms Hughes said she would expect the work on new high-tech equipment which screen lorries in France to be reflected in the programme.

Fingerprinting

The government has "taken a number of tough but necessary steps to tackle abuse of the asylum system", she said.

"We are making life harder for those trying to abuse the system while helping to create a more efficient process for those genuinely fleeing persecution."

This includes fingerprinting applicants, issuing ID cards, restricting access to benefits, introducing a list of safe countries and reporting conditions to keep contact with asylum seekers through the system.

"As the number of applications received in the UK is reduced, the system will continue to improve as pressure on it is relieved," said Ms Hughes.

"Numbers were down a third at the start of this year and we are making good progress towards our target to halve the numbers by September.

"But we are not fortress Britain. We are an open, trading nation and we need and are encouraging properly managed, legal migration in ways which boost our economy."