'Wrong' to link asylum claim abuse to clergy, says Bishop of Chelmsford

A bishop who came to the UK as a refugee has described linking abuse of the asylum system with the actions of clergy as "saddening".

The Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, was responding to criticism amid the case of chemical attack suspect Abdul Shokoor Ezedi.

Mr Ezedi was apparently allowed to stay in the UK after a priest confirmed he had converted to Christianity.

Dr Francis-Dehqani said asylum decisions were made by the Home Office.

Former immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, referred to "spurious" claims by some asylum seekers that they had converted to Christianity "aided and abetted by often well-meaning but naive vicars and priests".

It followed the corrosive chemical attack on a mother and two children in London on Wednesday.

Dr Francis-Dehqani, who came to the UK aged 13 in the wake of the Iranian Revolution, described the Clapham attack as "shocking and brutal".

She said: "Because the alleged perpetrator has been reported as someone seeking asylum in the UK on grounds of conversion to Christianity, some, including senior politicians, have questioned the role of churches and other faiths in supporting those who seek our help and protection here."

Dr Francis-Dehqani, who has been Bishop of Chelmsford since April 2021, said as a Christian leader she makes "no apology for our involvement in supporting people who are often deeply vulnerable and traumatised".

"But churches have no power to circumvent the government's duty to vet and approve applications - the responsibility for this rests with the Home Office," she said.

She said religious ministers from all denominations occasionally provided statements of support to people seeking asylum, "but it is wrong to think of this as some sort of magic ticket".

"The notion that a person may be fast-tracked through the asylum system, aided and abetted by the Church is simply inaccurate," she added.

"It is saddening to see this being implied by former holders of senior ministerial office."

Mr Ezedi has been on the run since the attack in south London on Wednesday.

A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered for information leading to his arrest.

Mr Ezedi's asylum claims were understood to have been twice rejected by the Home Office, shortly after he came to the UK in 2016, but also in the wake of his prosecution in 2018.

He challenged the Home Office's decision to refuse him asylum by successfully lodging an appeal.

Mr Ezedi was reportedly "wholly committed" to his new religion.

Dr Francis-Dehqani said: "Those who have claimed a link between the abuse of our asylum system and the action of bishops, in Parliament, are simply wrong."

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