Migrants baptised in hotel bathtubs by Christian charity amid claims conversions are being ‘abused’ to support asylum claims

Migrants are being baptized in bathtubs in taxpayer-funded asylum hotels by a Christian charity.

During the ceremonies, refugees are immersed in water and then they are accepted as Christians.

It comes amid concerns that Muslim immigrants are going through the process just to gain asylum in the UK.

Carelinks Ministries, a registered charity linked to the minority Christadelphian sect, is understood to have visited expat hotels to carry out baptisms.

A photo in a now-deleted social media post shows an asylum-seeking woman being converted to Christianity in the bathroom.

The baptism was performed by Carelinks volunteer Duncan Heaster, who travels the world inviting people to the Christian faith.

When contacted by the Daily Mail, Mr Heaster confirmed that he had baptized an asylum seeker in the hotel bathroom.

‘I baptize anyone who wants to become a Christian,’ he said, but added that the vast majority of the people he converted were not immigrants.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described bathtub baptisms as ‘madness’ and called for the asylum seeker system to be ‘abolished’.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp called bathtub baptisms ‘madness’ and called for the asylum seeker system to be ‘abolished’

he said Telegram: ‘The frenzy of bathtub baptism of illegal immigrants shows that this system is no longer a joke and must be completely destroyed.’

‘The government must immediately stop accepting all conversions in the UK as a basis for granting asylum,’ he added.

‘It is being abused on an industrial scale and this madness needs to stop and the pastors who signed it need to be prosecuted for aiding immigration fraud.’

Mr Philp’s comments came after some asylum seekers who had become Christadelphians in recent years argued they should remain in the UK because they would face religious persecution if they returned to their country.

Christadelphians are a minority sect within Christianity that rejects some of the religion’s core beliefs, such as the Holy Trinity.

Since 2019, at least six migrants have attempted to seek asylum in the UK after converting to the doctrine.

While four of the six claims were rejected by immigration judges, one was successful in 2019 after an Iranian man was ruled to have a ‘well-founded fear of persecution upon his return to Iran because of his religion’.

Meanwhile, Abdul Ezedi, who was granted asylum after being baptized last year, was the subject of a nationwide manhunt after he attacked a woman with a chemical substance in Clapham, south of London.

Clapham chemical attacker Abdul Ezedi was buried with a Muslim funeral despite claiming to be a Christian when he was granted asylum.

The body of the 35-year-old Afghan national was later found in the River Thames and he was given a Muslim burial.

He had twice been refused asylum by the Home Office and was deemed so dangerous by the Baptist Church that the church drew up a ‘security charter’ for the safety of parishioners due to his sexual assault and doxxing convictions.

Both Mr Heaster and the Carelinks Ministries said they did not deal with asylum applications and had no influence over whether asylum applications were accepted.

The Church of England also denied claims that it was operating a ‘conveyor belt’ of baptisms.

But current guidance for clergy acknowledges that some migrants believe ‘converting to Christianity would assist their asylum claim’.

A spokesperson for Carelinks said: ‘Carelinks is not involved in helping any individual seek asylum.

‘Asylum applications are a private matter between the claimant and the state, and it is up to the claimant to demonstrate to the court that their conversion to Christianity is genuine.’