Home secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a new crackdown on the asylum system

Shabana Mahmood’s new plans to tough up the British asylum system have been criticised for being “cruel” – and for appealing to the “far right”.

The home secretary wants to unveil the “most sweeping set of reforms in modern times”, cutting the period people hold refugee status from five years to two-and-a-half years.

She also wants to make refugees wait 20 years – rather than the current five years – to claim indefinite right to remain in the UK, although Mahmood has hinted that if asylum seekers use “safe and legal routes”, find work and contribute to society, they might be able to able for settled status earlier.

Her full plan is set to be unveiled on Monday, but the home secretary did tell broadcasters on Sunday that Britain must address the “pull factors” which drive migrants to make dangerous boat crossings across the Channel.

She has drawn inspiration from Denmark’s tough system in a bid to make Britain less attractive and reduce the number of refugees trying to reach the UK via illegal means.

It comes amid rising criticism towards the British asylum system as Labour has struggled to stop the flow of small boat crossings since getting into office last July – and anti-immigration rivals like Reform UK have been soaring in the polls.

Mahmood has denied any accusations that these new policies are racist.

“I can see that illegal migration is causing division across our country,” she told Sky News. “People are angry about something that is real.”

'Our illegal migration system is broken.'
@ShabanaMahmood denies that the govt’s efforts........

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