An asylum charity that specialises in supporting those with refused applications is hosting clinics at the former church of a whistleblowing vicar, GB News can reveal.
Justice First, a charity based in the Tees Valley, runs drop-ins at St Cuthbert’s church, Darlington, where the Rev Matthew Firth was formerly the vicar.
Mr Firth last month said that the Church of England has become a “conveyor belt for asylum seeker fake conversions”.
He said that there were at least 20 failed asylum seekers who sought baptisms to support their claims at his church while he was the priest from 2018 to 2020.
Matthew Firth last month said that the Church of England has become a “conveyor belt for asylum seeker fake conversions”
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Addressing the Home Affairs Select Committee this morning, the priest said that soon after he arrived at St Cuthbert’s he found a “surprising number” of baptisms of asylum seekers.
He added: “It was a large number of young male asylum seekers, almost in a cohort.
“After those baptisms, week-in, week-out, significant groups of mainly Iranian and Syrian young male asylum seekers were being brought to me in sizeable cohorts.
“At a time, six or seven people [were] brought to me by people saying these people need baptism.”
During his testimony, Mr Firth also tried to raise concerns about the asylum charity in the Tees Valley, having brought evidence to support his concerns.
But the committee did not engage with it.
Mr Firth said: “I raised the matter with the committee but, in the moment, they didn’t seem to realise just how significant it is.
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Matthew Firth said that soon after he arrived at St Cuthbert’s he found a “surprising number” of baptisms of asylum seekers
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“It is a significant matter, and potentially concerning, that certain churches are blurring the boundaries of pastoral care and legal processes by allowing their premises to be used as legal centres in such a contentious area.”
Justice First advertises drop-ins at three churches across the Tees Valley region.
There is no suggestion that the charity is recommending conversion to bolster asylum claims.
In an exclusive interview with GB News, the former priest in charge told us that the charity started operating at St Cuthbert’s after he left in 2020.
In a tweet posted in 2022, Justice First said that their drop-ins at the Darlington church offered advice on “fresh asylum claims/refugee settlement/travel docs etc.”
The post added the hashtags #accesstojustice and #RefugeesWelcome.
The advice centres have been provided weekly.
Advertising wider “Immigration & Asylum Support Services,” the charity said it hosted drop-ins at Park Avenue Baptist Church in Redcar every four weeks and a weekly service at St Joseph’s Church in Hartlepool.
Reacting to Mr Firth’s testimony in Westminster, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Durham said: “As the Bishop of Chelmsford said to today’s Select Committee, we have not seen any evidence to support the claim made by Matthew Firth that the Church of England is being used as a ‘conveyer belt’ for baptisms in order for people to gain asylum status.
“We are extremely proud of St Cuthbert’s and the work the church does to ensure asylum seekers and refugees are welcomed and supported in Darlington. The baptism records before and during Mr Firth’s time at St Cuthbert’s, and the testimony of local church members, do not accord with Mr Firth’s evidence.
“The parish records show that since 2014 a maximum of 15 out of a total of 189 people baptised at St Cuthbert’s may have been asylum seekers, seven of whom were baptised by Mr Firth himself. In the four years prior to Mr Firth’s arrival as Priest in Charge in 2018 only six people who may have been asylum seekers were baptised.
“As Priest in Charge it was his responsibility to check the authenticity of candidates and it is surprising that, as he acknowledged to the committee, he did not report any sign of anything amiss at the time.
“Even so, it is not the Church’s responsibility to assess the veracity of asylum claims, and religion or faith is not a determinative reason for asylum.”
Justice First was contacted for comment.
