Labour peer Alf Dubs, who fled Nazi persecution as a child, has called on incoming prime minister Andy Burnham to remove Shabana Mahmood from the Home Office and tear up her asylum plans, branding them 'performative cruelty'. Dubs, 93, said Mahmood's talents would be better used elsewhere in the cabinet, allowing Burnham to champion human rights, compassion, fairness and equality while maintaining border control.
Dubs: Mahmood's policies are unjust
Dubs, who arrived in the UK via the Kindertransport in 1939, criticised proposed changes to indefinite leave to remain, which would apply retrospectively to people who entered the country in good faith. 'These are simply unjust and should be reconsidered,' he told the Guardian. He also condemned the suspension of family reunion visas and plans to make it easier to handcuff children before deportation.
Dubs urged Burnham to use his expected premiership to correct 'mistakes' made by the Starmer government on asylum and refugees. 'We must stand firmly by our commitments under the 1951 refugee convention and the ECHR, not attempt to water them down,' he said.
Asylum bill faces internal opposition
Mahmood is expected to unveil an asylum and immigration bill on Tuesday, including measures to place children in handcuffs prior to deportation and remove sick children. Dubs warned these proposals would leave children like his younger self 'out in the cold'. 'They could be handcuffed and deported, even if they have family here ready to care for them. Those are not British values and they are certainly not Labour values,' he said.
Burnham, widely expected to become prime minister after Starmer resigned, has run a 'positive, community-focused and unifying' campaign in Makerfield, Dubs noted. 'To squander that optimism now would be a political mistake.'
Dubs calls for a reset
Dubs described the transition as a 'reset moment' for Labour, urging the party to abandon 'appalling language' used by politicians to describe refugees, such as 'invaders' or 'tearing our country apart'. He argued that Labour should control borders 'without cruelty' and pursue Europe-wide cooperation on asylum seekers.
Sources close to Mahmood defended her policies as necessary to restore order and border control, claiming the UK risks losing popular consent for its asylum system without tough measures. However, Dubs insisted that 'performative cruelty'—like seizing refugees' jewellery at the border—undermines Labour values.
