A Home Office whistleblower has claimed that migrants charged with crimes including sex offences are being let into Britain.
Home Office staff are allowed to grant asylum to migrants accused of offences which would carry sub-12-month sentences if committed in the UK, the insider has revealed.
The source, a caseworker, claimed she had been disciplined by her employer for rejecting an asylum application from an Afghan man accused of indecently exposing himself in a children’s play area on numerous occasions.
She told The Telegraph: “I said: ‘I’m refusing. He’s a wrong ’un’.
Home Office staff may grant asylum to migrants who commit offences in the UK
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GETTY“And my senior manager said we can’t refuse an Afghan, we’ve got to grant. And I said I wouldn’t do it because a man who exposes himself in front of kids – well, where’s that going to end?
“And they said you’ve got to make the decision on the basis of the claim – he can’t be returned because he says he was politically active in Afghanistan against the Taliban.
“I was refusing that man because… I believed he posed a threat to children, but he was never going to receive a jail sentence for indecent exposure, he was just getting repeated warnings.
“So they gave his case to someone else who was prepared to say ‘yes’.”
The insider added that caseworkers were being put in a “lose-lose situation” as they face pressure from higher-ups and the media.
She also claimed that her colleagues were being incentivised to approve more asylum claims – and that applications from certain nations including Sudan and Eritrea, were being fast-tracked through the system with less oversight than other countries.
The accusations by the senior caseworker come amid an overhaul to the asylum system set to be announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who recently admitted the Home Office is “not yet fit for purpose”.
Ms Mahmood is expected to unveil new stricter rules on criminals, the appeals process and the ability of migrants to use human rights loopholes to frustrate deportation efforts.
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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood recently admitted the Home Office is ‘not yet fit for purpose’
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PAAsylum applications in the UK have soared to record highs, with 111,000 made in the year to June – a jump of around 14 per cent on the year before.
The number of migrants arriving to Britain by small boat has also risen, with 37,000 making the journey so far in 2025, an increase of 17 per cent compared to the same point in 2024.
This week, the Conservatives attempted to grant Government ministers the power to deport any migrant who receive a prison sentence of any length for a crime in Britain.
However, this was waved away by Labour who claimed the measure would infringe upon the human rights of the migrants.
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GB NEWS
Asylum applications in the UK have soared to record highs, with 111,000 made in the year to June
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GETTYA spokesman for the Home Office said: “We take all allegations seriously and are committed to addressing any concerns appropriately. However, we do not accept the characterisation of these concerns as presented.
“The integrity of the UK immigration system is paramount.
“We operate within a robust framework of safeguards and quality assurance measures to ensure that all claims are thoroughly assessed, decisions are well-founded, and protection is granted only to those who meet the established criteria.
“We are changing the law so individuals convicted of sexual offences cannot be granted asylum in the UK.”