Minister makes main vow on protected routes – ‘different to small boat crossings’
Home Office minister Mike Tapp said the Government is committed to extending safe and legal routes to the UK – as he pointed to a rise in grants last year
Experts have long called on the government to extend safe and legal routes to claiming asylum(Image: Getty Images)
A Labour migration minister has pledged the Government WILL open up more safe and legal routes for people fleeing persecution.
The Government has long been criticised for not widening routes for people to claim asylum. Experts and human rights groups argue this fuels small boat crossings.
Migration and citizenship minister Mike Tapp told The Mirror that the Government is committed to doing so – but only once illegal migration is under control. He pointed to a sharp increase in the number of people – predominantly from Ukraine – granted sanctuary in 2025.
Figures released by the Home Office on Thursday showed 190,000 people were granted leave to live in the UK after coming on humanitarian routes. This is 2.5 times the number from the previous year.
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Mr Tapp, the minister for migration and citizenship, said : “Britain will always be a country that offers refuge to those genuinely fleeing war and persecution. Over the past year, we have more than doubled the number of people granted sanctuary via safe and legal routes.
“We have also extended the Ukraine scheme as Russia’s barbaric war continues and invited more Hong Kongers to build new lives here.”
He vowed that ministers will look at ways of expanding safe routes – but did not commit to a timeframe. Mr Tapp said: “In time, as we bear down on illegal migration, we will open more safe and legal routes as an alternative to dangerous small boat crossings.”
Home Office documents show more than 140,000 of the 190,000 cases were extensions for people already in the country. The majority of these were Ukrainians fleeing the war in their homeland.
A further 49,081 grants were issued to people outside the UK – of which 14,868 were on Ukraine schemes. This was a 23% drop on 2024’s figure.
Imran Hussain, director of external affairs at Refugee Council, said: “If the government wants to provide a genuine alternative to perilous small boat crossings, then it must provide safe and legal routes for refugees.
“But people fleeing war and oppression are being pushed into dangerous journeys because safe routes are being shut down. In the last three months of 2025, there was a 35% drop in people granted protection through resettlement schemes, compared to 2024, and only 65 refugees arrived in the UK on the main resettlement route.
“The suspension of family reunion – a route that overwhelmingly helped women and children – will only make it harder for families to stay together safely. Children from countries like Afghanistan, Sudan and Eritrea will be left stranded in unthinkable danger. “
