An activist has attacked a statement from the Home Secretary Suella Braverman that migrants are pretending to be gay to gain UK residency.
During a trip to Washington DC, Braverman stated she would not tolerate asylum seekers pretending to be gay to “get special treatment”.
Just 2% of asylum applications in the UK (1,334 claims) in 2022 included sexual orientation as part of the basis for their asylum claim, according to Home Office figures – ‘Asylum claims on the basis of sexual orientation 2022’.
Cleo Marker-Floyd, 42, is a member of the LGBTQ+ community who has worked in the application process for years has been angered by the remarks.
She said: “This is just another attempt to cause division and distraction from the real problem [which is] an incompetent government…It is a shame to place the negativity on one specific group of people, seeking a better life”.
However, Mrs Braveman’s comments have sparked a debate about the validity of including sexual orientation in the application process.
S Acastor, 57, a retired solicitor who dealt with asylum applications at South London Refugee Association, believes it is not relevant to claims.
He said: “It shouldn’t be a part of the assessment as to why you’re seeking asylum.
“If it’s law of their land or religion it’s not for the UK to be there to rectify when there’s others seeking asylum for safety away from the likes of war, sex trafficking or extreme poverty and hunger.”
On her American trip Mrs Braverman told ITV News: “What we see operationally is that people do game the system. They come to the UK, they purport to be homosexual in the effort to game our system, in the effort to get special treatment. That’s not fair and it’s not right.”