Candid confessions from migrants attending what purported to be a support gathering for gay asylum seekers have exposed a lucrative fraud operation coaching individuals to fabricate sexuality-based refugee claims, a BBC undercover investigation has found.
At a community centre in Beckton, east London, more than 175 people assembled for an event hosted by Worcester LGBT, which presents itself as a network assisting homosexual refugees. Yet attendees travelling from Birmingham, South Wales and Oxford openly admitted the gathering was far from genuine.
“Most of the people here are not gays,” one man called Fahar told the undercover reporter. Another participant, identifying himself as Zeeshan, was more categorical: “Nobody is a gay here. Not even one per cent are gay. Not even 0.01 per cent are gay.”
The admission corroborates findings from the BBC’s broader investigation into immigration advisers and legal practices charging migrants thousands of pounds to construct false asylum applications based on fabricated sexual orientation. Individuals nearing visa expiry are being provided with invented personal histories and assisted in obtaining counterfeit supporting materials, including correspondence, photographs and medical documentation.
Applicants then lodge refugee claims asserting they face persecution in countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, where homosexual conduct remains illegal. One legal firm was discovered charging up to £7,000 for pursuing such fraudulent cases whilst assuring clients the Home Office rejection rate was “very low”.
The investigation uncovered elaborate deception tactics, including coaching migrants to attend GP appointments claiming depression to build medical evidence. One individual reportedly falsified HIV-positive status to strengthen their application.
An immigration adviser boasted of facilitating bogus claims for over 17 years and offered to arrange someone to pretend they had been in a homosexual relationship with a client. A lawyer linked to another practice disclosed he had helped individuals masquerade as gay or atheist to obtain asylum, charging £1,500 for his services plus an additional £2,000 to £3,000 for fabricating evidence.
The undercover reporter’s introduction to the scheme came through Mazedul Hasan Shakil, a paralegal at Law & Justice Solicitors who also founded Worcester LGBT. Whilst Shakil initially advised the reporter lacked legitimate grounds for asylum, an associate named Tanisa Khan subsequently contacted the investigator.
Speaking in Urdu, Khan was markedly more accommodating when told the reporter was not genuinely gay. “There is nobody who is real,” she stated. “There is only one way out in order to live here now and that is the very method everyone is adopting.”
Worcester LGBT has since permanently removed Khan from all association with the organisation, insisting she held no decision-making authority and her involvement was limited to cultural activities.
The Home Office warned that anyone exploiting the system faces “the full force of the law, including removal from the UK”.
