Lawyer James Tumbridge has said a Home Office document warning asylum seekers not to commit rape, engage in harassment or have sexual contact with children could be used by campaigners to strengthen arguments against asylum accommodation being placed in local communities.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Tumbridge said the decision to issue the guidance appeared to acknowledge that some people arriving in the UK may not understand the country’s laws around sexual offences and consent.
Asked whether the document amounted to an admission that asylum seekers could represent a risk to communities, Mr Tumbridge said it was “clearly necessary” to explain British laws to people arriving in the country.
He said: “It’s clearly necessary to tell the people arriving in the UK these are laws because they’re claiming not realising and understanding what we think of as acceptable.”
Mr Tumbridge said the guidance could therefore become relevant to legal challenges and campaigning against asylum accommodation, although he stressed that it would not, by itself, be enough to establish a legal claim.
“That’s quite a damning admission,” he said, arguing that the document could “play into any arguments, any campaigning, any cases”.
However, he suggested another reason for the Home Office issuing the guidance could be to prevent asylum seekers from later claiming they were unaware of UK law.
The discussion turned to communities opposed to the use of former military bases and hotels to house asylum seekers.
Asked whether the Home Office document could strengthen a potential High Court case by showing that the Government itself recognises a potential risk to communities, Mr Tumbridge agreed that it could be used to support such an argument.
“As lawyers we talk about sort of praying in aid,” he said. “It simply means that these are things that you rely on to support your argument.”
Mr Tumbridge stressed that the document would not be a “slam dunk” and would not be sufficient on its own to win a legal challenge.
But he said it could nevertheless provide campaigners with evidence to point to when arguing that the Government recognises there is an issue.
“It shows that there’s an issue,” he said.
He added that the Government would not have produced the guidance if there was no concern about people understanding UK laws.
“You must recognise it as a problem,” he said. “You wouldn’t be doing this pamphlet if there wasn’t a problem.”