Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds information on a standard letter template used by Pakistani men to falsely claim they are gay during the asylum process.

The Home Office is committed to ensuring that the asylum system is not open to abuse. It is the responsibility of everyone claiming asylum in the UK to co-operate with the Home Office and tell the truth. It is a crime to make an asylum application that involves trying to deceive the Home Office. If anyone does this and is found guilty of it in a court, they may be given a custodial sentence, after which they may be deported.

All asylum and human rights claims, including those raised by Pakistan nationals on grounds of sexuality are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Our guidance for considering asylum claims is available on GOV.UK at: Assessing credibility and refugee status: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The weight to be placed on evidence of support from any particular individual or organisation is something for an asylum decision maker to judge on a case-by-case basis, in line with the Immigration Rules and Home Office policy.

A decision maker will not accept that someone is gay simply because they claim to be so. Such declarations constitute the starting point in the consideration process and are subject to probing at interview and a proper assessment of the facts and circumstances.