Zia Yusuf has demanded an end to taxpayer-funded legal representation for migrants who enter Britain illegally or overstay their visas in a crackdown on fraudulent asylum claims.
Speaking to GB News, the Reform UK Home Affairs Spokesman revealed that 135million in legal aid has been provided to such individuals over the past six-and-a-half years, with the majority allocated during the Conservative Government's tenure.
"It is insane that British taxpayers have to pay money to people who broke into the country so that they can fight their removal," Mr Yusuf stated.
The policy announcement follows a BBC documentary that exposed widespread coaching of asylum seekers to submit fraudulent applications, prompting Reform UK to outline measures targeting what Mr Yusuf described as an "illegal migration industrial complex".
The party's second major proposal would criminalise any assistance provided to asylum seekers making fraudulent claims, with Mr Yusuf calling for this to be established as a "strict liability offence".
Under such legislation, prosecutors would not need to demonstrate that advisers or legal professionals intended to facilitate fraud, mirroring existing obligations placed on law firms and accountants regarding financial crimes such as tax evasion and bribery.
"If we do that, number one, the people you saw in that programme, to the degree they continue to do it, they will end up in jail, lawyer or otherwise," Mr Yusuf explained.
He added that the measure would...
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