A member of staff at the Home Office has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to sell UK residency to an asylum seeker in Northern Ireland. The official allegedly contacted the asylum seeker and requested £2,000 in exchange for approving their refugee application. Sensitive records from the Home Office were believed to have been used as part of the attempted scam. The member of staff has been suspended from their role.
The asylum seeker, who is being called Renas for anonymity, was contacted by a worker employed by the Home Office as an asylum “decision maker” from the north of England. During the call, the decision maker allegedly claimed that 95% of people in Renas’ situation had their applications refused, and suggested that direct payment would guarantee success. Renas recorded a subsequent video call with the decision maker, during which official Home Office software containing case files was visible in the background.
Lancashire Police arrested a man in his 30s in the Ramsgreave area of Blackburn on suspicion of misconduct in public office, money laundering, bribery, and computer misuse offences. The investigation is ongoing, and it is unclear how many other individuals may have been targeted or whether any cases have been approved on the basis of payment.
The action of the decision maker has been described as “egregious” by Renas’ solicitor, Sinead Marmion. Marmion suggested that current backlogs within the Home Office’s asylum system may have led to inexperienced and underqualified staff handling applications. Labour’s Shadow Immigration Minister Stephen Kinnock has called the allegations “deeply concerning” and claimed the government has “lost control” of the asylum system
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More