BOWING TO MOB RULE
MP accuses Foreign Office of stalling on asylum for Christian mother over fears British diplomats in Pakistan face attacks by fanatics
MINISTERS were accused of bowing to the mob last night by refusing to grant asylum to Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi.
Tom Tugendhat, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs select committee, claimed the mother-of-five was not offered refuge in the UK because British officials feared reprisal attacks.
He claimed Home Secretary Sajid Javid had suggested allowing her into the country but had met resistance from Foreign Office diplomats in Pakistan.
Mrs Bibi was freed from death row last month after eight years in jail on blasphemy charges, but she now faces being lynched by extremists. Tens of thousands have taken to the streets in Pakistan to demand that the Roman Catholic farm worker – who is in hiding under police protection – is put to death.
Former Tory chairman Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the daughter of Pakistani immigrants, said that if Pakistan could not keep Mrs Bibi safe, the UK should take her in, adding: ‘We cannot tolerate mob rule.’
The claims emerged as pressure mounted on Theresa May to intervene.
More than 70 MPs and peers signed a letter to the PM calling for a grant of asylum and asking her to take account of the ‘exceptional circumstances’ of the case.
The letter, which was organised by Tory MP Rehman Chishti, warned of the ‘clear threat to life’ to a woman who had been ‘persecuted for her faith’.
It said such a move would be ‘in line with the Government’s clear moral commitment to standing up for justice, human rights and respect for religious freedom’.
Last night, Mr Chishti said: ‘It is morally and ethically the right thing to do.’
A separate letter, signed by Muslim and Christian leaders including Paul Butler, the Bishop of Durham, was addressed to Mr Javid. It said: ‘Britain’s commitment to freedom of religious expression is one of our most important values. We call on you to make a clear and proactive statement that Britain would welcome a request for sanctuary here.’
It came after former foreign secretary Boris Johnson wrote to Mr Javid yesterday demanding asylum for Mrs Bibi, 53. He said: ‘We cannot allow the threat of violence to deter us from doing the right thing.’
Yesterday, Mrs Bibi’s lawyer, Saif ul-Mulook, said she had not left Pakistan because no other country had offered her a visa. He said Western countries such as Britain were guilty of ‘talking a lot’.
He told Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The moment any country of the world offer visas she will be out the next minute. That is the real reason that she is unable to fly.’
This contradicts suggestions in Whitehall that she cannot be offered asylum because she has been banned from leaving the country. Mr Tugendhat’s comments came as he cross-examined the Foreign Office’s most senior civil servant, Permanent Secretary Sir Simon McDonald.
He told Sir Simon: ‘The Home Office has made some suggestions – including offering asylum – to an individual who… would qualify on absolutely every ground.
‘One of the reasons this has not been done is because the Head of Post in country is worried about the security implications for staff.
‘Does that not raise the question that either staff should be with- drawn or security increased because otherwise British policy is being dictated to by a mob?’
Sir Simon rejected suggestions that the UK was hoping for an offer from another country. The Canadian government is in talks with Pakistan over the case.
Tim Farron, ex-leader of the Lib Dems is organising a petition in Parliament calling for an asylum offer. He said: ‘Her plight is appalling. The plight of her family and those who have worked to secure her freedom is shocking. It’s a tragedy that although her release from prison has been secured she is not actually free.
‘The UK should demonstrate its commitment to religious tolerance and offer unconditional asylum to her and her family.’