Independent MP Adnan Hussain calls UK pause on Syrian asylum decisions 'dangerous'

Independent MP Adnan Hussain has slammed the British government's announcement that it is suspending all Syrian asylum claims because the Assad dynasty was toppled in Syria.

Hussain, who was elected to parliament in July and is one of five members of the parliamentary Independent Alliance, told Middle East Eye the Labour government's move is "dangerous". 

"The removal of Syria's tyrannical dictator is a welcome step for the Syrian people to now be given an opportunity at hopefully building a democratic and pluralistic state," he said.

But Hussain added that the situation in Syria remains "uncertain, and no doubt dangerous".

On Tuesday, border security minister, Angela Eagle, told Sky News that "there is no basis at the moment to make asylum claims".

She said: "The main reason people claim asylum from Syria... is that they were fleeing from the brutal Assad regime which has just collapsed before our eyes."

Hussain hit back against the government's position. "It is untenable to believe that Syrians are now completely removed from any fear of harm," he told MEE, "especially at this unstable stage where power is being exchanged, distributed and decided upon."

Instead, he argued that "the international community should explore all avenues of assistance" to Syrians.

This could be through "avenues of increased aid, assistance in rebuilding infrastructure devastated by a decade-long brutal war, medical and health facilities or expert psychological assistance for a population traumatised by the brutalities of a regime renowned for inflicting the most extreme forms of torture upon its own people".

Thousands of asylum claims

The government's decision to pause asylum claims followed the same decisions by Germany - which has taken in nearly a million Syrians fleeing the country's war - and other European countries including Greece, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Austria, meanwhile, has announced it is beginning a "programme of orderly repatriation and deportation to Syria".

In the UK, there are currently around 6,500 asylum claims by Syrians, all of which have been paused.

There are around 30,000 Syrian nationals living in the UK, a relatively small number compared with many European countries. 

The UK's official country policy on Syria, used to make decisions in asylum applications, was withdrawn on Monday.

Border Security Minister Eagle said on Tuesday: "We don't really know what kind of regime or system will come out of the chaos that we've seen. We do welcome the fact that the Assad regime, which was brutal, has gone. That's good.

"But what replaces it is not yet clear, and that is why we have to pause asylum claims and wait to see what happens."

Syria is still in a state of conflict, according to many analysts, with no guarantee of when it will be a functioning conflict-free state again.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes across the country since Sunday, and there are clashes in the northeast between the opposition Syrian National Army and the Kurdish forces in the region.