E-TJERA

Britain, harsh with the Albanians, demands a quick review of asylum requests

Britain, harsh with the Albanians, demands a quick review of asylum requests

Britain's Home Office has ordered asylum units to work only with applications from Albanians in a bid to speed up deportations - forcing other nationalities to suffer longer waits.

Sources told The Independent that the push, code-named Operation Bridora, aims to declare as many clearly unfounded applications from Albanians as possible and to remove people from the UK after a rise in the number arriving in small boats.

There are concerns it will delay decisions for thousands of Afghans, Iranians, Syrians and asylum seekers from all over the world, with many already waiting years to find out if they will be granted protection.

"It's discrimination," a source familiar with the move, which began on Monday, told The Independent. "The manifestly unfounded claims law does not apply equally to claimants from other countries."

Of the more than 140,000 asylum applications awaiting an initial decision in the UK, around 16 percent are from Albanians.

Clare Moseley, founder of the charity Care4Calais, said some of the nationalities pushed to the back of the queue had asylum grant rates of up to 98% but will now be waiting even longer.

"Asylum applications should be heard fairly based on people's personal circumstances," she added.

Latest news