Anger as Afghan refugees told to take language test

War on Terrorism: Asylum-seekers

Asylum-seekers arriving in Britain who claim to be fleeing Afghanistan are to face a new language test to prove that they are Afghans.

The move was criticised last night by the Refugee Council, which warned that Afghans who had lived in Pakistan previously might have developed a Pakistani accent and could be wrongly refused asylum. This could include people who risked being forced to fight for the Taliban regime against their will in the war against the American-led coalition, it said.

As part of a crackdown on bogus claims, the Government is to bring in language tests for asylum-seekers from Afghanistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka. The Home Office said there was "evidence that some asylum applicants are falsely posing as nationals from countries with high grant rates of asylum or exceptional leave".

Under the pilot scheme, which will start in the next two weeks, taped interviews with some asylum-seekers from the three states will be sent to language experts, who will advise on the applicant's likely place of origin.

If the trial proves successful, the scheme could be extended to all asylum-seekers.

Angela Eagle, a Home Office minister, said people would be asked to undergo the tests only when immigration staff had "objective reasons" for doubting their nationality.

Ms Eagle added: "The purpose of language analysis is to provide expert evidence which helps to identify the place of origin of asylum-seekers. Language analysis is used in a number of European countries, and the results are generally successful."

As a safeguard, Ms Eagle said, the Race Monitor to be appointed under the Race Relations Act would report to Parliament on the likely effect of the change.

A spokeswoman for the Refugee Council said: "Language tests alone will never be a reasonable way of determining someone's nationality. That would be a matter of serious concern."

She said that the Home Office should consider a range of indicators, such as the applicants' general knowledge about the country concerned and information about their parents' background.