# @pinknews on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DXJzs4UANOx
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/64129576-pinknews-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/86cdf2bd65.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-04-15T13:02:48.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** PinkNews (@pinknews) — https://gondola.cc/pinknews

## Caption

An undercover investigation by BBC News released today (15 April) has revealed a network of legal advisers and intermediaries in the UK allegedly coaching migrants to fabricate LGBTQ+ asylum claims in exchange for thousands of pounds for their services.

Reporters posed as international students from Pakistan and Bangladesh whose visas were set to expire. These undercover reporters were offered detailed guidance on how to pretend to be gay, including memorising backstories, staging photos at LGBTQ+ venues, and obtaining falsified supporting evidence such as medical reports and letters from community groups. Some advisers reportedly charged up to £7,000 while claiming the chances of rejection were “very low.”

The investigation also revealed how community organisations and informal networks may be exploited to bolster false claims, with one adviser allegedly offering to arrange fake relationships or provide documentation confirming romantic activity.

Ana Gonzalez, an expert immigration lawyer, told the BBC, “People like that [are] just really making things harder for the legitimate asylum seekers and refugees out there. Particularly for something that is as intangible as being LGBTI, really, because when you are a victim of torture, when certain things happen to you, often there is a way of evidencing that, in an objective way.”

“When it comes to the queer community, it is not. It is just based on contact and on how you actually present and how convincing you can be on that particular day, irrespective of whether you're telling the truth or not,” she continued.

The Home Office responded, “Anyone found trying to exploit the system will face the full force of the law, including removal from the UK,” when shown the BBC’s findings.

Advocates and legal experts cautioned that while abuse of the system must be addressed, the findings should not be used to discredit genuine LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, many of whom still face significant barriers proving their identity and risk in hostile environments.

#UKPolitics #UK #LGBTQIA #asylum #law

## Stats

- **Views:** 12,567
- **Likes:** 1,028
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 65

## Tags

ukpolitics, asylum, uk, lgbtqia, law

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