BRITAIN’S largest civil servants’ union called Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to show humanity to refugees today as plans to bar anyone who arrives into the country by “irregular” means from gaining citizenship face their first legal challenge.

Public and Commercial Services (PCS) general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “It’s hugely disappointing to see the current government follow in the anti-immigration footsteps of the previous government.

“Rather than try to woo Reform voters by wanting to be seen as tough, they should have a humane approach to this issue and adopt our Safe Routes scheme that would allow refugees to travel to the UK and have their claims fairly assessed on arrival.

“A person’s eligibility for British citizenship should be based on why they’re here not how they got here.”

The intervention came a day after more than 30 parliamentarians signed a cross-party letter calling on Sir Keir to show “basic humanity” for Gazans after he vowed to close a “loophole” that allowed a Palestinian family to remain in Britain under a Ukrainian refugee scheme.

A 21-year-old Afghan refugee who fled the Taliban and was smuggled into Britain on the back of a lorry aged 14 has become the first to challenge the government’s plans.

He was granted refugee status and, after being granted indefinite leave to remain, was due to apply for British citizenship on March 1.

He is now unable to do so after new rules making it almost impossible for any refugee who arrives via “a dangerous journey” to become a British citizen, regardless of the time that has passed since they arrived in the country emerged last week.

The refugee’s pre-action protocol says that the change in the citizenship rules is “a source of great anxiety,” leaving him fearful of being isolated from the rest of British society and not being able to vote nor to travel freely.

His lawyer Toufique Hossain of Duncan Lewis solicitors said: “For the sake of political expediency, [Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is] willing to roll out unlawful polices with the sole purpose of punishing migrants and refugees — those who are quite clearly of good character and eligible for citizenship.”

The Home Office said: “This guidance is strengthening these measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally, including small boat arrivals, faces having a British citizenship application refused.”