Asylum seekers to carry ID cards

All asylum seekers will be forced to carry an identity card bearing their fingerprints under a radical programme of reforms to the refugee system announced this afternoon by the Government.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said his measures would send a message to the rest of the world that the "UK is not open to abuse, but nor is it fortress Britain".

Under a new three-part system, all would-be refugees arriving in the country at Heathrow, Dover or another port, would be sent to a nearby "induction centre" where, within a week, their claim for asylum would be registered and their medical needs assessed. They will also be issued with a new " biometric" card which contains personal details on an electronic chip, including a copy of their fingerprints and a photograph.

The card will give them a right to food, clothing and accommodation and is aimed at preventing multiple applications for asylum or benefit fraud.

Mr Blunkett told the Commons asylum seekers would then be sent from an induction centre to a network-of new accommodation centres-around Britain, where they will be expected to live until their claim is processed.

Councils will not have to provide them with housing, because a place will be guaranteed for them at an accommodation centre. These centres are to be piloted next year, initially offering up to 3,000 places where they will provide healthcare, education and legal advice.

If the application is rejected and there is a danger of the person absconding, they would then be sent to the third place, a "removal centre", another phrase for a detention camp, to ensure they leave the UK. The number of places at detention centres will be doubled to 4,000 by the end of next year.

The appeals process, which has meant courts often take months to deal with cases, is also to be speeded up. Some 85 per cent of rejected cases go to appeal, which slows down the entire immigration system.

The Home Secretary's reforms, concentrating on tracking people through a more "coherent" process, may provoke fierce reaction from civil liberties groups, who have argued that ID cards for would-be refugees will stigmatise them.

But the Home Office wants to ensure genuine victims of persecution-will be better dealt with, because they will have access to proper medical care, legal advice and interpreters.

Mr Blunkett also announced a gradual withdrawal from the schemes in which asylum applicants were given vouchers with which to buy food. Opponents said they were humiliating for would-be refugees.

These will now be gradually phased out as the accommodation centres will provide food. But small amounts of "pocket money" will be provided for some purchases. The vouchers are not likely to disappear completely until 2003.