Shabana Mahmood Reopens Refugee Resettlement Route as Reform's Zia Yusuf Slams 'Illegal Boat Crisis'

Asylum and refugee issues used to be humanitarian issues but they have become much-debated political topics in the UK. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the government will reopen the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) in partnership with the United Nations (UN).

'We will take vulnerable refugees from camps across the world and give them the chance of a new and better life here in Britain. With the first arrivals beginning this year,' Mahmood said on social media. She also shared the same message while speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

What Is the Resettlement Route?

Formally known as the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), the programme provides 'genuine refugees' with a safe and legal route to Britain. 'Around one in four referrals will be for Afghan women and girls and Palestinian refugees fleeing war and persecution,' the Home Office release said.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) are the government's partners in the undertaking. The UK will start accepting applications next month through sponsorships from recognised charities and non-profit organisations.

'This will start with a community sponsorship route, allowing local communities to host refugees, and a student sponsorship route, allowing universities to do the same. Applications will open in October, with the first arrivals in autumn of next year,' Mahmood said.

'I am proud to say that around a quarter will be Afghan women and girls fleeing persecution under the Taliban, and Palestinians who have fled the horrors of Gaza,' she added.

'Nobody Voted for This'

Far-right politicians were quick to dismiss the government's move. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss also questioned the UN's involvement: 'When they wrote "in partnership with the UN," were they thinking how to make this horrific statement even worse?' In 2024, Truss wanted to abolish the UN because she did not see the purpose of the organisation.

Charlie Downes, the campaigns director and spokesman for Restore Britain, shared a post claiming that Afghans are '22x more likely to be convicted of sexual assault than Brits', alongside other figures that have not been independently verified.

'Shabana Mahmood has just declared yet another new "legal route" for thousands MORE Afghans to come to Britain,' said Zia Yusuf, Reform UK's home affairs spokesperson. 'Nobody voted for this. It is illegitimate.'

In another post, Yusuf asked: 'Does anyone know why Tory and Labour ministers are so OBSESSED with importing Afghans to Britain? It's an addiction. More important than any domestic political issue to them. They'll import them by the thousand, not vet them, spend billions, take out superinjunctions.'

Illegal Boat Crisis

The migration issue has always been a major sore point for Reform UK, which has blasted Prime Minister Andy Burnham for his perceived leniency over asylum seekers arriving in the UK via small boats across the English Channel.

'The illegal boat crisis is a national security emergency,' Yusuf said in yet another social media post. This time, he enumerated asylum seekers who have been jailed for various crimes.

Yusuf mentioned Deng Chol Majek, who was sentenced to at least 29 years in prison for stabbing to death Rhiannon Whyte, a 27-year-old mother-of-one. The politician also named Ahmed Alid, who was convicted of murdering 70-year-old Terence Carney.