A Labour MP today bizarrely claimed Paddington would be denied UK citizenship under toughened rules for those who arrive in Britain illegally.
Stella Creasy, the Walthamstow MP, referred to the fictional talking bear as she lashed out at Government changes to immigration regulations.
The Home Office’s updated ‘good character’ guidance now states that anyone who entered the UK illegally will ‘normally’ have a citizenship application refused.
This is ‘regardless of the time that has passed since the illegal entry took place’, according to changes made on Monday.
The updated guidance also makes specific reference to those making a ‘dangerous journey’, such as arriving in Britain on a small boat or by hiding in a vehicle.
The changes were made as the Government sought to repeal laws passed by the previous Tory administration as part of efforts to send Channel migrants to Rwanda.
But ministers are facing a backlash and stand accused of quietly blocking thousands of refugees who have successfully applied for asylum from claiming UK citizenship.
In her own criticism of the changes, Ms Creasy suggested Paddington would be among those impacted by the new guidance.
A Labour MP has bizarrely claimed Paddington would be denied UK citizenship under toughened rules for those who arrive in Britain illegally
Stella Creasy, the Walthamstow MP, referred to the fictional talking bear as she lashed out at Government changes to immigration regulations
The Home Office’s updated ‘good character’ guidance now states that anyone who entered the UK illegally – such as on a small boat – will ‘normally’ have a citizenship application refused
The Labour backbencher told BBC Radio 4’s Today that the action by the Home Office would ‘deny’ the marmalade-munching mammal from getting a passport.
She said: ‘I was incredibly proud over the last couple of months to work with one of my neighbors, who is a young man who fled Syria, who is now making a life here.
‘[He] has just got his degree, is contributing to our society, and has now got British citizenship.
‘This process would deny that. Essentially it would deny, well, frankly, Paddington.
‘Paddington did the same thing. He came via an irregular route, we gave him sanctuary but wouldn’t give him a passport.’
Ms Creasy suggested the Home Office changes would send the wrong message about integration in British society for successful asylum applicants.
‘Let us be clear about what we’re talking about here. This is citizenship, this is not granting people asylum,’ she added.
‘Two-thirds of the people who have come through irregular means and on small boats have been granted asylum because they have a well-founded fear of persecution.
‘But this change is not about that. It is about when people are here and they have come to this country and they are staying here.
‘For example, I have Afghan interpreters who came in that irregular route because the previous government fundamentally failed to take them to safety and so they came via that route.
‘When they have made a life here, this change means it is unlikely they will ever be able to get citizenship, which is a completely different but important element of the message that we send about integration.
‘This is not about whether we offer these people refuge, these people are people who can stay here already.
‘This is about people who are here, who are part of our communities.’
Speaking later to LBC, Ms Creasy warned against treating successful asylum seekers as ‘second class citizens’.
She claimed Olympic hero Sir Mo Farah, who was illegally trafficked to Britain, would also have been impacted by the new rules.
‘I have great faith in the British public, they are compassionate decent people,’ she said.
‘After all we are also a nation that takes great pride in the apocryphal story of Paddington.
‘Paddington was a stowaway from Peru and he went to have tea with the Queen and wasn’t that a beautiful British moment that everybody celebrated.’
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘There are already rules that can prevent those arriving illegally from gaining citizenship.
‘This guidance further strengthens measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally, including small boat arrivals, faces having a British citizenship application refused.’
