On 8th February 2024, The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the recent claim by a member of the House of Commons that the Church of England was “facilitating industrial-scale bogus asylum claims,”, pointing out the lack of evidence for this and the Church of England’s duty to administer sacraments such as baptism:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, both the Church of England and my most reverend friend the Archbishop of Canterbury have repeatedly said that we want the boats to stop, criminal gangs to be prosecuted and people to be held accountable if they commit offences. We note that a prominent Member in the other place recently said that the Church is
“facilitating industrial-scale bogus asylum claims”,
which has been widely reported in the press. Administering the sacrament of baptism is one of the core duties of the clergy. Given that, what is the evidence to substantiate claims that baptism is being used systematically and extensively to support asylum claims? If the Minister cannot give me that information now—I understand that it is a big ask—can he please write to me? We would like to see the evidence.
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The Church of England in Parliament 
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