Remove home secretary Mahmood and rip up her asylum plans, says Alf Dubs
Exclusive: Labour peer who fled Nazis as a child says Andy Burnham has chance to ‘correct mistakes’ on refugees
TL;DR
- Labour peer Alf Dubs urges Prime Minister Andy Burnham to remove Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and scrap her asylum policies.
- Dubs suggests Mahmood's talents would be better utilized elsewhere in cabinet, allowing Burnham to implement his own approach.
- He criticizes Mahmood's policies as "performative cruelty" and calls for a return to Labour values of compassion and fairness.
- Specific criticisms include the suspension of family reunion visas and proposed changes to indefinite leave to remain, deemed unjust and potentially harmful to children.
- Dubs emphasizes the importance of upholding commitments to the 1951 refugee convention and ECHR.
- He believes Burnham's administration can reset the party's approach to refugees, moving away from harsh language and towards cooperation.
- Sources close to Mahmood defend her policies as necessary for border control and consistent with Labour values.