Asylum Hotels: Migrant Criminal Activity Debate

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Department: Home Office

Asylum Hotels: Migrant Criminal Activity

Jim Shannon Excerpts
Monday 21st July 2025

(1 day, 22 hours ago)

Commons Chamber
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Diana Johnson Portrait Dame Diana Johnson
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Clearly that is a live matter before the courts, but I want people to be held to account for their actions. If that involves extradition, that is the right thing to do.

Jim Shannon Portrait Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
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As always, I thank the Minister for her answers. However, all too often we seem to be hearing about criminal activity by immigrants and asylum seekers across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and more needs to be done to address it. On behalf of my constituents, who ask me this question all the time—every weekend, to be precise—what steps will the Minister take to ensure that we have a zero-tolerance policy for migrants awaiting an asylum decision, so that if they are detained for any kind of criminal activity during that time, they will be sent back to their country of origin as a matter of urgency?

Diana Johnson Portrait Dame Diana Johnson
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As I said at the outset, whoever perpetrates a crime will be held to account, and there will be consequences. I hope I have been clear that that includes people who are making asylum applications, as well as the wider general public. People have to be held to account.