‘Pulling up the drawbridge’: Alf Dubs criticises Shabana Mahmood’s plans for child refugees | Shabana Mahmood

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood, whose parents emigrated to the UK from Pakistan, is facing a suggestion from a veteran Labor colleague that she would “lift the drawbridge as soon as we get in” while considering the plight of refugee children stranded abroad.

Alf Dubs, who came to the UK in 1939 when he was six years old, fleeing persecution of Jews in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, said the home secretary and other ministers were “obeying” Nigel Farage’s Reformation UK by preventing unaccompanied children from seeking refuge with family members living in the UK.

Keir Starmer’s government has faced pressure from Labor MPs after announcing plans for the biggest change to asylum laws in 40 years, including the suspension of family reunification visas.

Ministers rejected attempts by Dubs and refugee charities to make it easier for children seeking asylum from abroad to apply to join their families in the UK.

Mahmood said that once order and control are established at the British borders, safer and legal routes will be opened for refugees.

Dubs, who was also the MP for Battersea and Northern Ireland minister during the Good Friday talks, told the Guardian in an interview that he was not surprised that home secretaries with children of immigrants, such as Mahmood, Priti Patel, Suella Braverman and James Cleverly, had become hard-line home ministers.

“Some believe that once you get in, you will raise the drawbridge. Politics is a tough old business. Some may just want to show that they won’t do things based on their past,” he said.

“I argue that the case for human rights should not depend on the actual background of the person making the argument. It should be based on the merits of the argument,” he said.

Asked if Mahmood had “pulled the drawbridge” on child refugees, Dubs replied: “It seems so.”

Dubs, 93, was transported to the United Kingdom on the Kindertransport train, which he later discovered had been organized by Berlin-based stockbroker Sir Nicholas Winton.

Dubs, who has been a Labor member for more than 50 years, accused Starmer’s government of using the right to asylum like “political football” as it courted voters on the Conservative and Reform right.

“I would like the government to accept, in principle, that refugee children who are abroad and have relatives with settled status here should be allowed to join them. If not all of the applicants, at least some of them.

“I think we can show that we are not just bowing down to the Reformation as we appear to be, but that we are moving in a different direction, and persuade the public to come with us.”

Asked whether he believed the current rise of extremism followed a similar path to that of the 1930s, Dubs said: “There are certain similarities. In a sense, I’ve had an easier journey than some of the kids from Syria and Afghanistan I’ve met. I haven’t had to cross continents and use human traffickers.”

“In ’38 and ’39, Britain took in unaccompanied child refugees from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia on the Kindertransport. Most other countries said no. Even America said no. But Britain did it then, under difficult conditions, and we can do it now.”

Until the suspension of family reunification visas in September 2025, an adult granted refugee status could sponsor their spouse or partner and dependent children under 18 to join them. Children do not have the right to family reunification.

Between October 2024 and September 2025, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued 20,876 refugee family reunification visas. The Refugee Council said more than half of the aid was given to children and 37 percent to adult women.

At the time of the suspension, the Home Office said it would last until “spring 2026”, when it planned to introduce new restrictions that could include new income thresholds and English language tests.

Dubs attempted to amend the border security, asylum and immigration bill in the autumn so that unaccompanied children outside the UK could be reunited with close family members who have been granted refugee status. Their efforts were successfully opposed by the government.

Dubs said he was “disappointed” by the move. In 2020, Keir Starmer signed a joint letter with his peer demanding that the then Conservative government commit to family reunification for child refugees.

This is not the first time Dubs has approached the government about the plight of refugee children. In 2016, he championed the landmark “Dubs amendment”, which was supported by both chambers and passed by the then Conservative government. This led to 480 unaccompanied refugee children being admitted to the UK, the majority of whom had fled Syria and were stranded alone in Europe.

He plans to push for further changes to allow unaccompanied children to enter the UK.

“We should not be afraid of reform. They will always outdo us in terms of hostility. What we need to do is say that some basic human rights principles must be implemented.”

“Do it very gently, argue for compassion. It’s a tactful thing, because we have to bear in mind that there are a lot of people in traditional Labor seats who are sympathetic to Reform. But we have to make a bid for them,” he said.

Mahmood also wants to increase the time it takes for most migrant workers to qualify for permanent residence from five to 10 years. Nearly 40 Labor MPs last week raised concerns about the impact of the proposals on immigrants already living here, describing the backwards approach as “un-British” and “moving the goalposts”.

Once order and control are restored at the UK’s borders, it will open safe and legal routes for genuine asylum seekers fleeing war and persecution, a source close to the home secretary said.

Mahmood is also said to believe that unless major changes are made to separate asylum seekers from “economic migrants”, the government risks losing approval for the asylum system, which could lead to widespread divisions and possible disorder.

A Home Office spokesman said: “As part of the government’s reforms to create a fairer asylum system, family reunification will no longer be automatic. Those wishing to bring family members to the UK will need to meet stricter criteria in future.”

“There will be other avenues available for eligible individuals to be reunited with their families.”