Elton John blasts UK Home Secretary for suggesting LGBTQ+ refugees shouldn’t qualify for asylum

Elton John has joined a growing chorus of critics blasting UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman for her suggestion that being LGBTQ+ should not qualify refugees for asylum.

Speaking to the right-wing American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington, DC, on Tuesday about what she characterized as the “existential challenge” of “uncontrolled and illegal migration,” Braverman suggested that the United Nation’s 1951 Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights should be reformed, the BBC reported.

Related: LGBTQ+ refugees fleeing persecution beaten, raped & killed at notorious Kakuma camp

Two trans women were forced to kiss by a mob threatening to beat them.

Drawn up in the aftermath of World War II, the 1951 Refugee Convention defines a refugee as anyone with a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” in their home country.

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“As case law has developed, what we have seen in practice is an interpretive shift away from ‘persecution,’ in favor of something more akin to a definition of ‘discrimination,’” Braverman told the AEI crowd. “The practical consequence of which has been to expand the number of those who may qualify for asylum, and to lower the threshold for doing so.”

“Let me be clear, there are vast swathes of the world where it is extremely difficult to be gay, or to be a woman. Where individuals are being persecuted, it is right that we offer sanctuary,” she continued. “But we will not be able to sustain an asylum system if in effect, simply being gay, or a woman, and fearful of discrimination in your country of origin is sufficient to qualify for protection.”

Braverman’s comments drew swift backlash, even from members of the UK’s conservative Tory party, who accused her of alienating LGBTQ+ voters.

On Tuesday, Elton John posted a joint statement with husband David Furnish and the Elton John AIDS Foundation responding to Braverman’s comments. “We are very concerned about the UK Home Secretary’s comments stating how discrimination for being gay or a woman should not be reason enough to qualify for protection under international refugee laws,” the statement read.

The statement went on to note that “Nearly a third of all nations class LGBTQ+ people as criminals and homosexuality is still punishable by death in 11 countries.”

“Dismissing the very real danger LGBTQ+ communities face risks further legitimising hate and violence against them,” the statement continued. “Leaders need to provide more compassion, support and acceptance for those seeking a safer future.”

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Ian McKellen told Channel 4 News that Braverman’s comments sounded like they were “laced with a good dollop of prejudice” and noted that some countries refuse to even acknowledge the existence of LGBTQ+ people. “When you’ve got that sort of stupid attitude, that can lead to great cruelty. And if someone’s escaping from that, they ought to be welcomed to this country where we don’t have the same attitude.”

On Wednesday, Braverman doubled down on her comments in the wake of the criticism, claiming without evidence that there are “many instances” of asylum seekers who pretend to be LGBTQ+ to “game the system.”

“People do game the system – they purport to be homosexual in the effort to game our system, in the effort to get special treatment. That’s not fair. It’s not right. I’m afraid we do see many instances when people purport to be gay when they’re not actually gay,” she said on ITV’s Peston.

According to ITV, the most recent figures from the UK’s Home Office indicate that only 2% of asylum claims in the country last year included sexual orientation as part of their basis.