British civil servants have almost never faced real consequences for their failures. If Reform come to power, that might change. Nigel Farage’s party has announced yesterday that they will introduce a new criminal offence of ‘dishonestly determining an asylum claim’. They will use this law to prosecute civil servants who have knowingly put British women and girls in danger by granting asylum to foreign sex offenders. These prosecutions will be retrospective, targeting those who have already made such asylum grants. The new crime would carry a prison sentence of up to two years, and could also result in offenders’ pensions being forfeited.
This announcement follows revelations that asylum caseworkers are being put under pressure to approve more asylum claims with less scrutiny. Some have reportedly been told to ignore criminal charges. In one case, an asylum caseworker was apparently disciplined after refusing to approve an Afghan man’s application because he has been arrested repeatedly for indecently exposing himself in a children’s playground. (The Home Office said they ‘do not accept the characterisation of these concerns as presented.’) As Zia Yusuf, Reform’s Head of Policy said, ‘In order to pretend that they are dealing with the asylum backlog, consecutive Labour and Conservative governments have been shamefully granting asylum to dangerous foreign sex offenders, in violation of the law.’
No doubt such pressures will only increase as Labour try to bring down the asylum backlog. Yet again, the system is choosing the desires of foreign men over the rights of British people. It is this abuse which Reform are seeking to end. Farage made his intent clear when announcing the policy. ‘I will not allow the safety of our women and girls to be sacrificed on the altar of misguided liberalism,’ he said.
Reform doesn’t just have negligent civil servants in its sights. The party is also committing to reviewing ‘all existing humanitarian protection and refugee status decisions’ within six months of winning power, and will deport all of those who fail their new tougher checks. This will apply to those who have been granted asylum, and all resettled Afghan nationals (and small boat arrivals with protected status) who weren’t properly vetted, didn’t actually assist British forces or are not genuine refugees.
This is excellent, bold policy. It is right and proper that civil servants whose actions make us less safe should face meaningful consequences. That is especially true of those whose actions are actively causing sexual assaults and rapes of British girls and women, or even murders committed by men who should not be here.
In announcing this new policy, Reform are beginning to exercise power before they enter government. Once civil servants realise that their actions today will have criminal consequences in 2029, they will naturally change their behaviours. Farage and Yusuf’s new law may well protect us even before they enact it.
My only criticism is that the party could and should go much further. It’s one thing to target those relatively junior civil servants who make asylum decisions, but those senior civil servants who have written policies, enforced cultures and disciplined those who resist are at least as worthy of punishment. Reform should commit to wide-ranging prosecutions of civil servants at all levels who have been complicit in the mass-importation of dangerous, criminal men to this country. Similarly, politicians and members of the judiciary who have brought about and sustained this system could reasonably also be prosecuted for misconduct in public office.
If we are to thrive again, our public servants must be held to the very highest standards
In all cases punishments should not be limited to a mere two years in prison and the loss of a public sector pension. At a minimum the most serious offenders should face total asset forfeiture, loss of any titles they have gained and substantial prison sentences.
It would also make sense to expand such prosecutions beyond the asylum system. As I have written before, civil and public servants who are complicit in the rape gangs scandal should absolutely be prosecuted and proscribed in a similar fashion. Politicians and civil servants who’ve advocated for men such as Alaa Abd El Fattah to be brought to the UK without seemingly conducting the most cursory of checks should also expect to be prosecuted at the very least for misconduct in public office.
One of the great failings of the modern British state is that incompetence or even malice seldom bring any real consequences. If we are to thrive again as a nation, our public servants must be held to the very highest standards. Reform’s announcement yesterday may be the first step in bringing about a new era of real accountability and consequences.
