https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/labour-asylum-plans-will-tear-children-their-homes
People thought to be migrants boarding a small boat in Gravelines, France, November 6, 2025HOME SECRETARY Shabana Mahmood is seeking “to use children as a weapon” in her asylum plans, a Labour peer who came to Britain as a child refugee has warned.
The government is preparing to intensify the removal of entire families after unveiling a fresh set of harsh measures on Monday evening.
A document laying out the rules claimed that asylum-seekers are using their children to “thwart removal.”
Now a consultation will look at stripping financial support from families with under-18s if they had been refused asylum.
The government says it will offer “financial support” to encourage families to leave voluntarily, but still escalate an “enforced return” if they refuse.
Lord Alf Dubs, who fled Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and arrived in England on Kindertransport, accused Ms Mahmood of using “children as a weapon,” describing it as a “shabby thing.”
He said: “I’m lost for words frankly. My concern was if we remove people who have come here, what happens if they’ve had children in the meantime?
“What are we supposed to do with the children who are born here, who’ve been to school here, who are part of our community and society?”
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