7 April 2025
Today (7 April 2025) more than 100 refugee charities signed an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for united communities and an end to ‘hostile politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past’, which was published exclusively in The Guardian.
The letter has been coordinated by campaign coalition Together With Refugees in response to the Organised Immigration Crime Summit on targeting smuggling gangs and the Prime Minister’s comments ahead of the event. He said: “But we all pay the price for insecure borders – from the cost of accommodating migrants to the strain on our public services. It is a basic question of fairness.”
The 136 signatories are from national, local and grass roots organisations across the UK including City of Sanctuary UK, Choose Love, Freedom from Torture, One Strong Voice, Rainbow Migration, Refugee Action, Refugee Council, Safe Passage International, Scottish Refugee Council, Welsh Refugee Council and Women for Refugee Women.
The letter states: “You told us this week that immigration ‘is a basic question of fairness’. We agree. But the searing experiences of last summer, when hate-filled mobs tried to burn down hotels hosting asylum seekers, make it clear that the path to fairness is not to be found in those pitting local communities against refugees seeking safety from persecution and war.”
It goes on to say: “Now is not the time to play into the hands of those seeking to build them-and-us division between local communities and refugees. It is the time to move away from the hostile politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past and unite our communities for a different way forward.”
The letter also responds to the Summit’s focus on targeting smuggling gangs. It states: “Rather than the border security summit’s focus on expensive new ways to disrupt people smugglers, often making the journey more dangerous for refugees, the government should be looking at safe routes for refugees to get here without risking their lives.”
Bridget Young, Director of NACCOM, who signed the letter, said: “A narrow focus on targeting the smuggling gangs is expensive and will only risk more lives as people take greater risks to get here. People fleeing war and other dangers need a legal way to apply for asylum in the UK, without ever having to take a terrifying journey across the Channel. We need a proper plan for refugees, with safe routes and meaningful support to help them integrate into their communities and contribute when they get here.”
Tim Naor Hilton, Chief Executive of Refugee Action, said: “We need the Prime Minister and his government to be brave and ditch the divisive language that scapegoats migrants, including refugees and people seeking asylum.
“Hostile policies and rhetoric risk fuelling more of the racist, Islamophobic and anti-immigrant riots that tore through our communities last summer.
“The government must use language that focuses on unity and community resilience, and develop a new asylum system that is grounded in rights and justice.”
Signatory Nico Ndlovu, representative of lived experience campaign group One Strong Voice, said: “The Prime Minister’s words this week make no recognition of our suffering and why we desperately need to find safety, or our contribution to this country, its economy and culture. It’s painful to hear him add his voice to this kind of hostile rhetoric. Rather than this summit’s narrow and expensive focus on people smugglers we need a proper vision for the asylum system, with a plan that is fair, compassionate and well-managed.”
The letter calls for a fair new plan for refugees that is compassionate and well-managed, with:
- Protection for people fleeing war and persecution by upholding the UK’s commitment under international law to the right to claim asylum.
- A proper strategy for welcoming refugees by ensuring fair, rapid decisions on their application for asylum, and the chance to rebuild their lives through settling in a community.
- Stronger global cooperation to tackle the root causes that force people to flee their homes and provides positive solutions when they do, including through safe routes to refugee protection.
ENDS
Notes to editors
The full letter and list of signatories
Dear Prime Minister
You told us this week that immigration ‘is a basic question of fairness’. We agree. But the searing experiences of last summer, when hate-filled mobs tried to burn down hotels hosting asylum seekers, make it clear that the path to fairness is not to be found in those pitting local communities against refugees seeking safety from persecution and war.
We know that 80% of British people want an asylum system that is fair, compassionate and well managed. In our daily work we see communities across the country going the extra mile to welcome refugees – opening their homes, volunteering, speaking up, and donating. Refugees enrich our country as our neighbours, friends and colleagues.
That’s why the fair and right thing to do is create a new vision for asylum in this country, with a fair new plan for refugees. We welcome the important changes your government has made – from scrapping the Rwanda scheme to ending the indefinite detention of refugee children, but we need a plan that goes further, with:
- Protection for people fleeing war and persecution by upholding the UK’s commitment under international law to the right to claim asylum.
- A proper strategy for welcoming refugees by ensuring fair, rapid decisions on their application for asylum, and the chance to rebuild their lives through settling in a community.
- Stronger global cooperation to tackle the root causes that force people to flee their homes and provides positive solutions when they do, including through safe routes to refugee protection.
Now is not the time to play into the hands of those seeking to build them-and-us division between local communities and refugees. It is the time to move away from the hostile politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past and unite our communities for a different way forward.
Yours sincerely
- Chris Woof, Join lead, ACAP (Ashton Churches Asylum Project)
- Maya Esslemont, Director, After Exploitation
- Professor Caroline Glendinning, Professor Emerita, Amnesty International Manchester
- Rob Wilson, Coordinator, Angels of Freedom CIC
- Victoria Marks, Director, Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU)
- Bobby Lloyd, CEO, Art Refuge
- Godefroid Seminega, Chief Executive Officer, Asha North Staffordshire
- Alison Pickup, Executive Director, Asylum Aid
- Ewan Roberts, Centre Manager, Asylum Link Merseyside (ALM)
- Louise Calvey, Director, Asylum Matters
- Anya Hulley, Community Engagement & Communications Co-ordinator, Baca Charity
- Zita Holbourne, National Chair, BARAC UK
- Steve Ruffle, Secretary, Barnsley Borough City of Sanctuary
- Corrinne Ainsworth, Projects and Marketing, Bicycle Links
- Emma Hawthorne, Chair of Trustees, BIRCH Network
- Shari Brown, Chair, Birmingham City of Sanctuary
- Barbara Forbes, Coordinator, Birmingham Schools of Sanctuary
- Ros Holland, Chief Executive, Boaz Trust
- Will Sutcliffe, Chair, Bradford City of Sanctuary
- Linda Walz, Chair, Bristol & Bath FfT Local Supporters’ Group
- Jo Benefield, Campaign Coordinator, Bristol Defend the Asylum Seekers Campaign
- Yvonne Rendell, Chair, Bromsgrove and Redditch Welcome Refugees
- Catharine Walston, Chair, Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group
- Adrian Matthews, Trustee, Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign
- Charlotte Khan, Head of Advocacy, Care4Calais
- Patrick O’Dowd, Director, Caritas Salford
- Ben Gilchrist, Chief Executive, Caritas Shrewsbury
- Hebe Reilly, Creative Director / CEO, Cartwheel Arts
- Andy Glover, Director, CC Hub CIC
- Emma Stevenson, Deputy CEO, Choose Love
- Sian Summers-Rees, Chief Officer, City of Sanctuary UK
- Nick Crofts, CEO, Co-op Foundation
- Jennifer Nadel, CEO, Compassion in Politics
- Chris Rose, Chair, Craven District of Sanctuary
- Kuljit Chuhan, Director, Crossing Footprints CIC
- Fran Wood, CEO, Darlington Assistance for Refugees
- Jan Benvie, Secretary, Edinburgh Action for Palestine
- Jeannie Tweedie, Co-Director, Elmbridge CAN
- Andrea Simon, Executive Director, End Violence Against Women Coalition
- Linda El-Miligy, Centre Manager, Esolperth
- Ros Gowers, Coordinator, Evesham Vale Welcomes Refugees
- Lewis Garland, Chief Executive, Fences & Frontiers
- Kate Tector, Headteacher, Filton Avenue Nursery School
- Jan Heritage, Publisher, Finished Creatures Poetry magazine
- Sonya Sceats , Chief Executive, Freedom from Torture
- Naomi Popli, Executive Director, Good Chance
- Traci Kirkland, Head of Charity, Govan Community Project
- Denise McDowell, Chief Executive, Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit
- Becky Moore , CEO, Hackney Migrant Centre
- Polly Gifford, Co-Chair, Hastings Community of Sanctuary
- Jane Grimshaw, Convenor Hastings Support Refugees, Hastings Supports Refugees
- Ailsa Dunn, Secretary, Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees
- Kerry Smith, Chief Executive, Helen Bamber Foundation
- Irene Austin, Chair, Herts Welcomes Refugees
- Rabbi David Mason, Executive Director, HIAS+JCORE
- Elizabeth Jiménez-Yáñez, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Hibiscus
- Rossana Horsley, Director London Programme, HostNation
- Christine Collings, Coordinator, HOW (Humans of Wolverhampton)
- Andrew Copson, Chief Executive, Humanists UK
- Katherine Maxwell-Rose, Strategic Communications Director, IMIX
- Zoe Bantleman, Legal Director, Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA)
- Bruna Boscaini, Director, Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation
- Liam Allmark, Acting Deputy Director, Jesuit Refugee Service UK
- Yasmin Halima, Executive Director, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI)
- Jill Kent, Chair, Justice & Peace Scotland (Scottish Catholic Justice & Peace Commission)
- Andy Sirel, Legal Director & Partner, JustRight Scotland
- Dr Razia Shariff, CEO, Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN)
- Alison Bell, Co-Chair, Lewes Refugee Support Group
- Jamie Balfour-Paul, Founder and Performing Magician, Magic for Smiles
- Helen Paskins, Advocacy and Partnerships Coordinator, Manchester City of Sanctuary
- Joanna Knight, Director, merl
- Seana Roberts, Manager, Merseyside Refugee Support Network
- Sebastian Rocca, Founder and CEO, Micro Rainbow
- Nazek Ramadan, Executive Director, Migrant Voice
- Fadi Itani OBE, CEO, Muslim Charities Forum
- Bridget Young, Director, NACCOM
- Nico Ndlovu, Podcaster, One Strong Voice
- Anna Lewis, CEO, Open Door North East
- Amos Schonfield, CEO, Our Second Home
- Paul Gauntlett, Trustee, Pendle New Neighbours
- Sarah Wilson , Director, Penrith and Eden Refugee Network
- James Adamson, Legal Adviser and Centre Manager, PERN Legal and Info
- Dawn B Judd, Chair, Preston City of Sanctuary
- Katie Hall, Advocacy Coordinator, Project Play
- Fran Heathcote, General Secretary, Public and Commercial Services Union
- Sheila Mosley, Member of Steering Group, Quaker Asylum & Refugee Network – QARN
- Leila Zadeh, Executive Director, Rainbow Migration
- Nick Beales, Head of Campaigning, RAMFEL
- Tim Naor Hilton, Chief Executive, Refugee Action
- Enver Solomon, Chief Executive, Refugee Council
- Rachel Ellis, CEO, Refugee Support Europe
- Nick Harborne, CEO, Refugee Support Group
- Lauren Scott, Chief Executive Officer, Refugees at Home
- Mia Hasenson-Gross, Executive Director, René Cassin, the Jewish voice for human rights
- Jeremy Thompson, Manager, Restore, a project of Birmingham Churches Together
- Shabna Begum, CEO, Runnymede Trust
- Gunes Kalkan, Head of Campaigns, Safe Passage International
- Charlotte Zosseder, Director, Samphire
- Michael Collyer, Chair, Sanctuary on Sea
- Karen Dobson, CEO, Scotswood Garden
- Dr Sabir Zazai OBE, Chief Executive, Scottish Refugee Council
- Angie Pedley, Treasurer (volunteer), Settle Area Refugee Support
- Annika Joy, Programme Director, Simon Community Scotland
- Kathryn Ashworth, CEO, Solace Surviving Exile and Persecution
- Selma Taha, Executive Director, Southall Black Sisters (SBS)
- Nikki Walters, Chair, Southampton Action
- Catherine Hartley, Co-Chair, Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group
- Pauline Nandoo, Director, Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers
- Abigail Martin, CEO , St Chad’s Sanctuary CIO
- Maja Moller , Committee Co-leader, St Thomas Church Asylum Seeker and Refugee Support Network
- Dr Helen Taylor, Director, Stories & Supper
- Stephanie Neville, Project Manager, Stories of Hope and Home
- Emily Crowley, Chief Executive, Student Action for Refugees (STAR)
- Satinder Collins, Chair, Tees Valley of Sanctuary
- Ruth Harvey, Leader, The Iona Community
- Summerly Devito, Joint CEO and Cofounder, The Launchpad Collective
- Susannah Baker, Trustee and Director of Refugee Resettlement, The Pickwell Foundation
- Rossana Leal , CEO, The Refugee Buddy Project Hastings Rother & Wealden
- William Gomes, Director , The William Gomes Podcast
- Andreea Dumitrache, CEO, the3million
- Saskia Borchardt-Hume, Chief Executive Officer, Thread Ahead
- Dania Thomas, Director, Ubuntu Women Shelter
- Tetyana Barnes, Manager, Ukrainian Scottish Council ( Ukrainian families club in Glasgow)
- Bella Hoogeveen, Project Manager for UNESCO RIELA, University of Glasgow, UNESCO Chair on Refugee Integration through Education, Language and Arts
- Andrew Jackson, Chief Executive , Upbeat Communities
- Mel Steel, Director, Voices in Exile
- Norman Minter, Chair, Waltham Forest Migrant Action
- Miriam Philip, CEO, Waterloo Community Counselling
- Rebecca Didi, Senior Trauma Informed Therapist, We Are Survivors
- Rob McDowall, Chair, Welfare Scotland
- Andrea Cleaver, CEO, Welsh Refugee Council
- Joanne MacInnes, Director, West London Welcome
- Andrea Vukovic, Co-Director, Women for Refugee Women
- Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, Director, Women’s Budget Group
- Dr Michael Bowker, Trustee, Wycombe Refugee Partnership
- Paola Uccellari, CEO, Young Roots
About Together With Refugees
Together With Refugees is the largest pro-refugee coalition in British history with more than 600 member organisations, from grassroots and refugee-led groups to international development charities and trade unions. With 80% of the British public wanting an approach to the asylum system that is well managed, fair and compassionate, the coalition also has a growing network of committed people getting organised and taking action to influence their MPs in constituencies across the country. The coalition is calling for a fair new plan for refugees that upholds the UK’s commitment under international law to the right to claim asylum, provides a proper strategy for welcoming refugees, and forges stronger global cooperation to tackle the root causes that force people to flee their homes and provides positive solutions when they do, including through safe routes to refugee protection. Find out more at togetherwithrefugees.org.uk and @RefugeeTogether on X and @RefugeesTogether on Instagram and BlueSky.