Don’t Let the Asylum System Be Exploited, Cleverly Warns Churches

Britain's Home Secretary James Cleverly leaves after a Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in central London on March 6, 2024. (Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images)

The home secretary has warned Britain’s churches not to allow asylum seekers to use their conversions to Christianity to exploit the system.

In his message to church leaders at Easter, James Cleverly wrote for The Sun on Saturday that there is a “real difference” between converting asylum seekers to Christianity and welcoming them into their congregation, and “vouching” for them at an asylum hearing.

“We have met with the senior Church leaders to explain Christian conversion is no guarantee of asylum being granted and we’ve stressed there is a real difference between welcoming new members to a flock and vouching for a person in an asylum tribunal,” Mr. Cleverly wrote.

“Allowing people to exploit the system risks detracting from the invaluable work Christians and the church do every day for our society – today of all days,” he wrote ahead of Easter Sunday.

The home secretary made the remarks after released court papers revealed last week that the judge who granted asylum to alkali attack suspect Abdul Ezedi believed he was a genuine convert to Christianity, despite suspecting the Afghan national was a liar.

“We were right to reject the asylum claims of the Clapham alkali attacker, twice, and believe a light shone on independent asylum tribunal decisions is needed,” Mr. Cleverly said.

Asylum Granted Because of Conversion

The Home Office had twice rejected Ezedi’s asylum claim after he arrived illegally in the UK in January 2016.

However, after his conversion to Christianity at a Baptist church and letters of support from the church community, Judge WK O'Hanlon granted his appeal in November 2020, ruling he could stay in the country on the grounds that as a convert, his life was in mortal danger if he returned to Afghanistan.

Judge O'Hanlon had said that the “most compelling evidence” that Ezedi had converted from Shia Islam to Christianity was from the Rev. Roy Merrin, the former ministry team leader at the Grange Road Baptist Church in Jarrow, South Tyneside, who by the time of his appeal had known Ezedi for four years.

The judge admitted that while Ezedi had “not been honest in several aspects of his account,” the court “must be very careful not to dismiss an appeal just because an appellant has told lies.”

In his ruling Judge O'Hanlon said that in spite of his concerns about Ezedi’s honesty, he found “the appellant had been consistent in his evidence with regard to his conversion to Christianity.”

Convicted Sex Offender

Ezedi started to attend the church one month after his arrival in the UK. He was baptised in June 2018 and photographic evidence showed him performing street ministry by handing out flyers.

While on his path to conversion, he was convicted of sexual assault and exposure and received a suspended sentence for his crimes in January 2018.

He was placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and received an order to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

His conviction necessitated that Ezedi and the church agree to a safeguarding contract, meaning that he was never allowed to be out of sight of a male chaperone at church and was not allowed to sit by himself during services.

The safeguarding contract was “to show the church had sufficiently risk assessed Abdul Ezedi’s attendance at church, ensuring the safety of the congregation and considering if it was appropriate for him to attend.”

An undated image of Abdul Ezedi (L) who was caught on CCTV at a supermarket in Caledonian Road, north London on Jan. 31, 2024. (Metropolitan Police)

Home Office Did Not Accept Conversion Was Genuine

During the 2020 appeal, the Home Office’s legal team said it did not believe Ezedi’s conversion to Christianity was “genuine and long-lasting.”

According to court records of the Home Office’s submissions, Ezedi had been unable to demonstrate a “clear understanding of Christian principles and beliefs.”

The convicted sex offender was “prepared to deceive” and “use religion for his own ends,” the Home Office had said.

Ezedi’s body was pulled from the River Thames in February 2024 following a major manhunt after police suspected he had attacked his ex-girlfriend and her children, aged 3 and 8, with alkali in Clapham, south London.

Forensics teams at the scene of an acid attack in Lessar Avenue, near Clapham Common in south London on Feb. 1, 2024. (PA)