The Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is understood to have dispatched officials to the Nordic country last month to study its strict border control and asylum policies
Shabana Mahmood is set to announce a major shake-up of Britain’s immigration rules with changes modelled on Denmark.
The Home Secretary is understood to have dispatched officials to the Nordic country last month to study its strict border control and asylum policies, which are seen as some of the toughest in Europe.
Denmark’s tighter rules on family reunions and restricting some refugees to a temporary stay are among the policies being looked at.
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Their approach has reduced the number of asylum applications to the lowest number in 40 years, while increasing returns through successfully removing 95% of rejected asylum seekers. Labour MPs are believed to be split on the move, with some supporting tougher measures to ward off Reform UK, but others being concerned it will drive voters to the Greens and Lib Dems.
Ms Mahmood wants to put off people seeking to enter the country via unauthorised routes, while making it easier to remove those who have no right to stay in the UK. Sources said she was eager to meet her Danish counterpart Rasmus Stoklund, Denmark’s immigration minister, as soon as possible.
Mr Stoklund has previously compared Danish society to “the hobbits in the Lord of the Rings”.
He said: “We are a small country. We live peacefully and quietly with each other. I guess you could compare us to the hobbits in the Lord Of The Rings. We expect people who come here to participate and contribute positively, and if they don’t they aren’t welcome.”
Speaking on Saturday morning, Stoke-on-Trent Central Labour MP Gareth Snell told BBC Radio 4 that any change bringing “fairness” to an asylum system that his constituents “don’t trust” is “worth exploring”.
He said it was “worth looking at what best practice we can find from our sister parties around the world where they have managed to find practical solutions” to managing immigration.
But Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome, who is a member of the party’s Socialist Campaign Group caucus, urged against emulating the Danish model, suggesting it was “far-right”.
“I think these are policies of the far-right. I don’t think anyone wants to see a Labour government flirting with them,” she said.
Some 648 migrants crossed the Channel to Britain in nine boats on Friday, according to Home Office figures published on Saturday, bringing the total for the year so far to 38,223.