ALT “This is a dark day that will cause a wave of fear and uncertainty for people seeking protection from violence and persecution. “Ultimately, this law makes it impossible for the vast majority of men, women and children to claim asylum in the UK. It will leave many people, from places like Sudan and Syria, in detention, destitution and permanent limbo. “The UK must uphold the right to claim asylum and create more safe routes so fewer people fall into the hands of smugglers. It must also tackle the immense backlog of existing asylum applications with more than 172,000 people waiting for their claim to be processed. Fixing the backlog would solve many of the problems we’re seeing in the asylum system today. “We would like to assure those affected by this development that Red Cross teams will still be there to provide support in the UK and around the world.”