Shabana Mahmood has been accused of handing migrants a £40,000 “prize” to cross the Channel in small boats. Unveiling radical reforms to the UK’s crumbling asylum system, the Home Secretary offered 150 families living in hotels the “staggering” sum to voluntarily leave the UK.

“They come because Tory and now Labour governments lay on a food bank for the world at British taxpayer expense.

“Free accommodation, free meals, free healthcare. The only way to stop this is to detain all of them and deport them.

“Unbelievably, Labour is increasing the incentive, by offering a staggering £40,000 package to illegals to leave voluntarily.

“That’s more than the median salary in Britain. As a prize for breaking in illegally. It’s a disgrace.”

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This is an insult to the British taxpayer.

“Offering £40,000 to failed asylum seekers to leave the country will only reward and incentivise illegal immigration. If we exit the ECHR, we can deport all illegal immigrants without needing to pay them. But Shabana Mahmood is too weak to do this.”

Each person in 150 families will be offered £10,000 if they agree to leave within seven days – but the handouts are being capped at £40,000. They received the messages early on Thursday morning.

As part of the plan, the Home Office is consulting with experts on how to “physically handle children during the removal, where it is appropriate”.

A source said: “The average cost to a taxpayer, of each family, is £158,000 a year.

“They will have seven days to reply to that offer and then leave the country.

“Crucially, if they do not take this offer, we will look to forcibly remove them from the country. That includes children, but we will never separate parents from their children.

“This has been an incredibly successful model in Denmark, in terms of using incentives smartly to increase the removals of failed asylum seekers.

“We estimate, should the pilot be successful, we will save £20million for the taxpayer.”

They added that migrants from Vietnam pay between £15,000 and £35,000 to reach the UK, whilst Syrians pay £10,000.

This, a source close to the Home Secretary argued, shows that migrants won’t be able to make money from the scheme.

And Ms Mahmood, in a speech to the Left-wing think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research, said: “For too long, families who have failed their claims have known that we were not enforcing our rules, which created a perverse incentive to make a channel crossing with children in the small boat.

“It is now on the parents in these families who can safely return to the home they came from to do the right thing.

“By accepting an incentive payment, rather than face an enforced return.”

Labour sources insisted Mr Yusuf has also vowed to pay migrants to leave the UK voluntarily.

The Home Secretary confirmed plans to boot migrants out of asylum accommodation and strip them of their cash if they break the law.

From June, the help will become “conditional” and only given to those “who genuinely need it and follow the law”.

Those who work in Britain’s black economy will also be thrown out of hotels, houses, flats and bedsits funded by taxpayers, alongside foreign criminals and those refusing to leave the UK voluntarily.

Some 30,000 migrants could lose their support, officials predicted.

She told the IPPR: “Once we have determined that somebody does not have a right to be in this country legally, it is essential that they leave.

“There is nothing fair about not enforcing our rules.

“Particularly as we know, many melt into illegal work, undercutting legal workers.”

Instead, they will be offered temporary status, which will be reviewed every 30 months.

If their country is deemed safe enough for them to return, they will be sent back. Only children who arrive in the UK unaccompanied will be exempt.

Until now, successful asylum seekers have been granted refugee status for five years and allowed to bring their families to the UK. They then got almost automatic fee-free permanent settlement with continued access to benefits and housing.

Refugees will also be required to “earn” their settlement rights by working and contributing to society.

They will have to wait up to 20 years before they can apply to settle in the UK – and up to 30 years if they arrived illegally via small boats across the Channel or by claiming asylum after overstaying work, student or visitor visas.

FURY AS LABOUR ACCUSED OF HANDING ILLEGAL MIGRANTS £40K ‘REWARD’

The Labour government has sparked a fierce political controversy after announcing plans to offer some failed asylum-seeking families up to £40,000 to leave the United Kingdom voluntarily.

The proposal, unveiled by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on 5 March 2026, has triggered criticism from opposition politicians, immigration campaigners and even members of Labour’s own parliamentary party.

Under the scheme, selected families whose asylum applications have been rejected will be offered £10,000 per person, up to a maximum of £40,000 per family, if they agree to leave Britain within seven days.

The initial trial is expected to involve approximately 150 families, including children, who are currently living in taxpayer-funded accommodation.

For critics, the proposal looks like an extraordinary financial reward for people who have no legal right to remain in Britain. The government, however, insists that the scheme is designed to save taxpayers money by encouraging voluntary departures instead of expensive forced removals.

WHY IS LABOUR OFFERING £40,000?

The government’s argument is based primarily on the financial cost of the asylum system.

Families whose asylum claims have been rejected can remain in government-supported accommodation while removal arrangements are being made.

According to the Home Office, accommodating an average family of three in an asylum hotel can cost approximately £158,000 a year.

Mahmood argues that offering financial assistance to encourage families to leave voluntarily could be considerably cheaper than keeping them in hotels while pursuing lengthy removal procedures.

The government hopes that the pilot could eventually save millions of pounds annually if expanded successfully.

The Home Secretary has also pointed to Denmark, where similar financial incentives have been used to encourage rejected asylum seekers to return to their countries of origin.

OPPOSITION PARTIES ACCUSE LABOUR OF REWARDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

The announcement immediately attracted criticism from the Conservatives and Reform UK.

Opposition politicians questioned why taxpayers should finance payments of up to £40,000 for families whose applications to remain in Britain have already been rejected.

Reform UK representatives described the proposal as an unacceptable use of public money, arguing that it could create the impression that people who enter Britain illegally are being financially rewarded.

The Conservatives also questioned why the government was relying on payments to encourage departures rather than concentrating on preventing irregular arrivals and increasing deportations.

However, the government rejects the suggestion that the scheme encourages illegal immigration.

The Home Office argues that the offer is available only to selected families whose asylum claims have failed and who are eligible to return to a safe country.

Those who reject the offer could face enforced removal.

LABOUR MPs ALSO EXPRESS CONCERN

Perhaps more politically damaging for Mahmood is the opposition the proposal has generated within Labour itself.

Several Labour MPs have criticised the government’s increasingly restrictive immigration policies.

Some believe that offering substantial financial incentives while threatening forced removals could undermine the party’s commitment to protecting vulnerable people.

Others have warned that the approach could damage Labour’s reputation among communities that traditionally support the party.

The disagreement illustrates the difficulty facing the government as it attempts to balance public concerns about immigration with humanitarian responsibilities.

Mahmood has defended her position by arguing that an immigration system must be both compassionate and properly controlled.

WILL TAXPAYERS ACTUALLY SAVE MONEY?

The financial argument is central to the entire proposal.

The government believes voluntary departures could reduce the costs associated with accommodation, detention, legal proceedings and compulsory deportations.

However, the success of the scheme depends on whether enough families accept the offer.

There is also an important question about how much the programme will ultimately cost and whether the projected savings will materialise.

During parliamentary evidence on 15 September 2026, Mahmood acknowledged that the pilot had not yet concluded and that the number of families accepting the offer remained relatively small.

She explained that the government was attempting to understand whether a more generous financial package would encourage families to leave voluntarily.

This raises further questions about whether the scheme can achieve its intended objectives.

WHAT HAPPENS TO FAMILIES WHO REFUSE?

The government’s proposal also includes the possibility of enforced removal for families who reject the voluntary departure offer.

Mahmood has argued that people whose asylum claims have failed cannot be allowed to remain indefinitely in publicly funded accommodation.

However, the treatment of families with children has attracted particular criticism from humanitarian organisations.

Campaigners have raised concerns about the psychological effects of immigration detention and the potential consequences of forcibly removing children.

The government says that any enforcement arrangements must comply with the law and be carried out humanely.

The debate therefore extends beyond financial considerations to questions about children’s welfare, human rights and the responsibilities of the British state.

CONCLUSION: A £40,000 QUESTION FOR BRITAIN

Labour’s proposal to offer failed asylum-seeking families up to £40,000 to leave Britain has exposed deep divisions over immigration, public spending and the government’s responsibilities.

For Shabana Mahmood, the argument is that voluntary departures could save taxpayers considerably more money than prolonged accommodation and forced removal procedures.

For critics, the scheme raises difficult questions about fairness, accountability and whether substantial financial incentives are an appropriate way to manage illegal immigration.

The government now faces an important test: demonstrating that the scheme actually works, delivers measurable savings and does not create unintended consequences.

Ultimately, British taxpayers deserve clear information about how much the programme costs, how many families accept the offer and whether the promised financial savings are achieved.

The central question is simple: will spending up to £40,000 per family help Britain reduce the cost of failed asylum claims, or will it become another expensive immigration policy that struggles to deliver the results promised?

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