The government’s decision to end the automatic right to family reunion for people fleeing war, conflict and persecution creates “an additional level of cruelty” for refugees, a family therapist working with survivors of torture has told openDemocracy.
Shaheen Syedain, who works for Freedom from Torture, warned of the impact that Labour’s sweeping changes to the asylum system will have.
Under the previous rules, an individual who had been granted refugee status in the UK could apply for their family members to join them, which was one of the few safe and legal routes for people to travel to the UK to seek asylum.
