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Increase follows a Supreme Court judgment which widened protection.

The number of refugees claiming asylum in Britain because their sexuality puts them in danger in their own country has increased by 450 per cent in just five years.

Conservative MP David Burrowes linked the rise to a Supreme Court ruling in 2010 which stopped the Home Office rejecting claims over its view that sexuality could be kept hidden.

Statistics show that 1,115 people claimed asylum due to their sexuality in 2014 compared with only 200 in 2010.

The majority of claimants were from Pakistan. In the same period, 343 Nigerians, 112 Jamaicans and 88 Ghanaians gave being gay as a reason to claim asylum.

Home Office minister Lord Bates recently stated: “An updated asylum instruction considering sexual identity issues in the asylum claim has been issued.

“Approved training for staff is under development. These will ensure the sensitive and effective exploration of asylum claims based on sexuality.

“The Home Office is conducting ‘second pair of eyes’ checks on all such claims to ensure the consistent recording of cases and more accurate data.”

A dramatic rise in numbers has sparked fears some migrants are using lesbian, gay, or transgender status as a way of staying in the UK.

Campaigners claim refugees have been forced to film themselves having sex to convince the authorities they are gay.

Theresa May has said that it was unacceptable to send people home and expect them to hide their sexuality.

 

 

 

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