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UK faith leaders call on Boris Johnson to not ‘close door’ on refugees

Letter to PM demands compassionate 11th-hour amendments to nationality and borders bill


Representatives from the six major religions are among more than 1,000 faith leaders to have signed a letter to the prime minister urging him to reconsider the controversial nationality and borders bill, which goes through the report stage in the House of Lords on Monday.

The leaders, representing the UK’s major faith groups, say they are “horrified and appalled about the potential repercussions” of the bill and called on Boris Johnson to make urgent changes “even at this late stage”.

Signatories include the former archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, Zara Mohammed, and the senior rabbi of Masorti Judaism, Jonathan Wittenberg.

The faith leaders say the 11th-hour plea is a crucial last opportunity to make changes. It states: “While there is still conflict and injustice in the world, there will always be desperate people needing to seek sanctuary from war, persecution and suffering. We cannot close our door on them, but this bill does just that.

“We assert that the values that bind UK citizens together, especially those concerning human dignity and life, will be fundamentally damaged by this bill.”

The letter calls on the prime minister to make substantial changes to the bill. They include abandoning the government’s plan to criminalise and restrict the rights of all people arriving in the UK seeking refugee protection outside pre-arranged schemes, including those coming via irregular routes, such as by boats or lorries. The signatories say this policy was made “without a basis in evidence or morality”.

They also call on the government to urgently address the bill’s failure to establish safe routes, which would help people seeking sanctuary to reach the UK, saying that this failure fundamentally undermines its aims. They urge the prime minister to be “compassionate and ambitious” in opening schemes such as family reunion, resettlement and routes for unaccompanied refugee children in Europe.

The letter calls on the prime minister to show “political leadership” and promote “compassion, human life and dignity”. Faith leaders have asked the prime minister to meet to discuss their concerns.

The letter was coordinated by the ecumenical Joint Public Issues Team, made up of the Methodist Church in Britain, the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the United Reformed Church, working with the Church of Scotland.

On Sunday, a cross-party group of peers also warned that plans within the bill to strip people of British citizenship without warning were against British values and would render people from ethnic minorities second-class citizens.

Clause 9 of the nationality and borders bill – which exempts the government from having to give notice if it is not “reasonably practicable” to do so, or in the interests of national security, diplomatic relations or otherwise in the public interest – has attracted heavy criticism and protests outside parliament.

Amendments tabled by the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, David Anderson, after discussions with the government, will reduce the circumstances in which notice can be withheld and introduce safeguards – but some peers say they do not go far enough.

In a letter sent to Susan Williams, the Home Office’s Lords minister, the Conservative peers Sayeeda Warsi and Nosheena Mubarik and the crossbench peer Frances D’Souza say: “Clause 9 would create a secret power of citizenship deprivation without appeal. Far from protecting the public, this gravely threatens cherished British values of fair play and the rule of law that make UK citizenship so prized around the world.

“We also risk leaving ethnic minority communities feeling second-class citizens.”

A Home Office spokesperson said:“ The Nationality and Borders Bill … will deliver the most comprehensive reform in decades.

“For the first time, we will be able to differentiate between those who arrive here through safe and legal routes and those who arrive here having had the opportunity to claim asylum already in a safe country.”