YVETTE Cooper has been blasted for “shameful” new rules which will make it harder for refugees to bring their families to the UK.
The Home Secretary has said she will this week suspend all new applications under the existing dedicated refugee family reunion route.
Refugees will be covered by "the same family migration rules and conditions as everyone else" until a new framework is introduced, she added.
This move comes ahead of more comprehensive reforms to family reunion, which will be outlined in an asylum statement later this year and implemented by spring.
The family reunion scheme allows people to bring their partners and children to the country once they are granted refugee status.
SNP MP Stephen Gethins (below) accused Labour of pandering to Reform by once again targeting the world’s most vulnerable.
He told The National: “Those fleeing war and authoritarian regimes do so because they are desperate. These regimes also will not distinguish between their critics and their families.
“Instead of pandering to Reform and imitating the Tories Labour should be protecting the most vulnerable.
The change comes after new visa restrictions came into effect at the end of July that mean overseas workers will now generally need a degree-level qualification to apply for the main skilled worker visa.
A dedicated visa for social care workers introduced during the Covid pandemic has also now closed to new applicants.
Labour MP Diane Abbott (below) said on Twitter that the right to a family life “is protected under international law and conventions”.
She accused the Government of wanting to break up families, even “for those who have been assessed as having a right to be here”.
"This will severely harm refugees, serve to profit smuggling gangs, and reduce any safe routes that successive governments have attempted to maintain in the past."
Elsewhere in a statement on Monday, Cooper also suggested there will be potential changes to the way that Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights is interpreted.
She says interpretations of international law need to keep up with the realities of the current world.
Cooper also confirmed a new independent body will be created to speed up asylum appeals.
She went on to say the UK Government would be increasing detention and returns capacity, including a 1000-bed expansion at Campsfield near Oxford and Haslar on the south coast of England.
Immigration expert Emile Chabal, based at the University of Edinburgh, said Labour should be looking at better management of migration flows rather than trying to stop migration altogether.
He said: “Labour's proposed policy [to make it harder for refugees to bring family] needs to be understood as part of a much broader attack on the rights of those who want to move to the UK to work, study or join their families.
“As we have now seen, such policies affect everyone, from very highly trained academics to refugees from war zones, many of whom quite naturally want to bring their families with them.
“The impact of these policies is devastating at a human level, but, just as importantly, these policies may not succeed at all.
“For many years, governments have tried to 'control' migration flows to the UK, but very little has changed. What is needed is better management of migration flows, rather than pursuing the unattainable dream of 'stopping' migration altogether."
Scottish Greens justice spokesperson Maggie Chapman said the suspension of new applications under the family reunion route was a “shameful attempt” to look “more authoritarian” than Reform.
She said: “This policy is vile. It is a racist and inhumane attack on families, on rights, and on basic dignity.
“It is as if Yvette Cooper has decided that she wants to make things as cruel and dehumanising as possible.
“This isn’t anything to do with improving the system. It is a transparent and shameful attempt to look even harsher and more authoritarian than Reform.
“It is a sign of how toxic Westminster has become when disgraceful policies like this are being advanced by a Labour government that is led by a former human rights lawyer.”
On efforts being taken to close asylum hotels, Cooper said the Government is reconfiguring sites, tightening the test for accommodation and working “at pace” to identify more appropriate accommodation, as well as working on clearing the backlog.
Keir Starmer wants to close asylum hotels “as quickly as possible”, his official spokesperson said, but declined to give a deadline.
The UK Government has committed to emptying all hotels housing asylum seekers by the end of the parliament, which could be as late as 2029.
