Blunkett tightens asylum rules by extending list of safe states

People fleeing political persecution in Serbia, ethnic tension in Romania or homophobic prejudice in Jamaica will no longer have an automatic right to claim asylum in Britain under sweeping changes an-nounced yesterday.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said that these three states, as well as Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Moldova, would be presumed to be free of persecution.

They will be added to a "safe list" of 10 countries, as part of a package of measures intended to reduce the numbers of asylum claims made in Britain. Mr Blunkett also said Britain was pulling out of a 44-year commitment to accept refugees from other European states without visas.

Speaking shortly before the first anniversary of his White Paper on Immigration and Asylum, Mr Blunkett proposed making it harder for asylum-seekers given "leave to remain" to leave the country later for a holiday or visit. Mr Blunkett said of the new safe-list countries: "They are democracies with effective criminal justice systems from which it is frankly not credible to suggest people routinely fear for their lives." Citizens of these countries will have to "rebut the presumption that their asylum or human rights claim is clearly unfounded".

Countries already on the list are Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The Refugee Councilsaid yesterday: "You can never say any country is safe for all people at all times."