The suspect in the Belfast knife attack was reportedly granted asylum in the UK under a fast-track scheme, according to a whistleblower who described it as "supremely easy" for Sudanese migrants to gain entry at that time.
Fast-Track Scheme Under Scrutiny
Hadi Alodid, a Sudanese national, was reportedly able to stay in Britain in 2023 after filling in a questionnaire rather than facing the standard interview. A Home Office asylum case officer stated there was pressure to speed through claims from Sudan amid a civil war in the country. Sudan was one of six nations included in a fast-track scheme as part of Rishi Sunak's pledge to clear the backlog.
The whistleblower claimed that security checks were bypassed and that staff were set productivity goals. He told The Times that 2023 was "a supremely easy time to get granted as a Sudanese" and that staff "were falling over themselves to grant."
Productivity Over Quality
He added: "It wasn't about good decisions, it was about making decisions and there was nothing like hitting targets." He said that Alodid would have been "a double whammy" because he would have sent an individual caseworker's "productivity through the roof." However, he noted it created a "big problem," explaining: "Everyone then wanted a Sudan claim to hit their target and then suddenly Sudan claims get a reputation for being easy. So people start looking for any reason to grant … It snowballs, the more that get granted the more likely they are to be granted. No one wanted to miss the gold rush."
Government Response
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn confirmed this morning that the fast-track asylum scheme is no longer in operation. He told Times Radio: "That was a process that was put in place by the last government." When asked whether it still exists, he said: "Well it does not, because that fast-track process doesn't operate, because the last government lost control of immigration. As you know, net migration is down 82% now, compared to the peak reached under the last government as a result of a number of steps that we have taken. And because we now have dealt with the asylum backlog, we're processing the cases quicker."
Mr Benn added that asylum seekers are now "properly processed" in order for a decision to be made on whether they should be granted asylum.
