Labour MPs are calling on Sir Keir Starmer to revoke a new citizenship rule that has been dismissed as "performative cruelty" and seen as a plot to win back Reform UK voters.
Last week, new guidance was issued by the Home Office which states that those who arrive in small boats or by other "dangerous" means will have their citizenship applications rejected.
The change does not affect decisions on whether people who arrived by small boat should be allowed to remain in the UK.
Under the previous guidance, refugees who arrived in the UK through irregular routes would need to wait 10 years before they would be eligible for applying for citizenship.
Labour MPs are calling on Sir Keir Starmer to revoke a new citizenship rule
PAOver a dozen Labour MPs have signed a motion demanding a u-turn, slamming the rules are trying to "win back Reform voters".
Nadia Whittome, who put forward the motion, told The Mirror: "I think that this is a continuation of the performative cruelty that we saw in the last Conservative government.
"I think most Labour MPs are not in favour of this policy. That's not what the Labour Party is meant to stand for. I think the policy is designed to win back Reform voters and it just won't work."
Whittome said it will make certain people "second class citizens", as the guidance affects people who have already been granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK, settled status and with indefinite leave to enter the UK.
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The motion, which has been backed so far by 13 other Labour backbenchers, says many people are forced to make unsafe crossings "due to a lack of alternative safe routes".
It also states that the policy "further punishes individuals whose claims of fleeing war, persecution, and danger have been upheld".
Among the MPs backing the call are Diane Abbott, Olivia Blake, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Ian Byrne, Andy McDonald, Kim Johnson and Clive Lewis.
The move also has sparked outcry from refugee charities, who have urged the Government to reconsider.
Whittome said it will make certain people "second class citizens"
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The Refugee Council, which estimates the new guidance will stop over 70,000 refugees from obtaining British citizenship, said the move “flies in the face of reason”.
Chief executive of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, said: "This change flies in the face of reason. The British public want refugees who have been given safety in our country to integrate into and contribute to their new communities, so it makes no sense for the Government to erect more barriers."
A Home Office spokesman said last week: “There are already rules that can prevent those arriving illegally from gaining citizenship.
"This guidance further strengthens measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally, including small boat arrivals, faces having a British citizenship application refused.”
